


Songs for you

by baeconandeggs, highqualityidiot



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Real life/university AU, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 03:10:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14740919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/highqualityidiot/pseuds/highqualityidiot
Summary: It’s August and Baekhyun’s spending his summer holiday at his grandparents’ house far from Seoul and far from his mundane worries and doubts. His holiday (and life) is completely turned around by a handsome backpacker.





	Songs for you

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #:** BAE560
> 
>  
> 
> **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
>  
> 
>  **Author's Note:** This has been such a journey, both a fun and stressful one! Thanks for the mods for holding this fest again and being patient with me.
> 
> I did quite a bit of research for the fic, as I have never been to Gangwon-do myself, so I hope the setting turned out realistic enough. The sights and attractions mentioned in the fic are all real, save for a one or two.
> 
> Dear prompter and readers, I hope you like this fic!

**From Jongdae:**  
hey so the performance group’s going out next friday again you wanna come?

 **To Jongdae:**  
thanks but ill be in the countryside already

 **From Jongdae:**  
wow so you’re rly going!! and skipping the summer courses??

 **To Jongdae:**  
yeah well… there wouldve only been one anyway

 **From Jongdae:**  
so how long are you staying? will i be lonely the whole holiday?

 **To Jongdae:**  
idk probably like two weeks or so  
i know its hard but hang in there without me ㅋㅋㅋ

 **From Jongdae:**  
have fun in the mountains!! ㅋㅋㅋ

 

\--

 

“Baekhyun-ah, are you going to sleep all day? Come down for breakfast!”

“Mmhh… I’m coming!”

Baekhyun rolls over and peeks from under the covers. He hears his grandmother returning downstairs; the stairs squeak lightly and then it’s silent again. He reaches for his phone and checks the time — it’s 10.36 so it really is time to drag himself up. Baekhyun is surprised his grandmother even let him sleep this long. 

Baekhyun gets up and rummages through his bag for a pair of sweats and a clean t-shirt. While dressing up, he lets his gaze wander around the small guestroom. It looks exactly the same as it did back when he was a kid and always staying over during summer holidays. The old flower patterned curtains, same worn out carpet, the bookshelf with the same manga volumes he’s been reading since middle school. Now, at 24, and with a couple of years break in his visits, the room feels somewhat smaller to Baekhyun but not any less cozy. He likes it there. Everything in his grandparents’ house, in Yanggu, feels so calm and relaxing and stable – exactly the reason why Baekhyun felt like spending his holiday there again after a while. 

Baekhyun puts on the slippers his grandmother has prepared for him and goes downstairs.

“There comes the sleepyhead!” his grandmother greets when Baekhyun steps into the kitchen. “Sit down dear, I saved some rice and soup for you. Do you want fried egg?”

“Yes, please,” Baekhyun manages while his grandmother ushers him down to the table and starts serving late breakfast for him.

“Is grandpa out?” Baekhyun asks while the rice and soup and several side dishes start appearing in front of him. So. Much. Food. He had almost forgotten about this part of the visits.

“He went to visit Mr. Choi in the next house,” his grandmother tells. “He’s happy you’re here. Said you could help him with some repair projects he’s had in mind.”

“Oh, so much for a peaceful and relaxing summer vacation, it seems,” Baekhyun jokes. “I haven’t been here for like two years and you’re making me work right away?”

“Oh don’t worry, dear, you can have your holiday, too. And we’re very glad to have you over again. We’ve missed you,” his grandmother gives him a quick squeeze before sitting down across him, smiling fondly.

“So, how is my Baekhyunie? Still studying hard?”

“Y-yes.” Baekhyun swallows a mouthful of rice and decides to present a short and embellished version of the reality. “If everything goes as planned, I should graduate next spring.”

“Oh how wonderful!” Grandmother looks delighted. “Have you already planned what kind of job do you want after graduation?”

“Um, I don’t really know yet,” he says and tries to make it sound light and carefree. His grandparents don’t really need to know everything about his academic and future related struggles. Even his parents don’t know, so. “I still have lots of time to think about that.”

“Oh yes, and I’m sure everything will turn out great,” his grandmother says with that content and proud voice she always has when she’s talking about her grandsons. “You can do anything!”

Baekhyun smiles at her and goes back to his soup wishing that he had even a fraction of the confidence his grandmother seems to have towards him.

“How about your girlfriend, how is she doing?” Grandmother suddenly asks.

Oh no.

“Umm, we actually… are not together anymore. We broke up a couple of months ago.”

“Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that, dear.”

“It’s fine,” Baekhyun says quickly. “ We were kind of on and off already before that, so… It didn’t work out.”

Grandmother gives him a sympathetic smile. “Love is hard, isn’t it? But you’ll find someone else. Like I said, you can do anything!” And then she reaches out and ruffles his hair like he’s 10 again, and he can only chuckle.

“So, what do you want to do during your vacation here? Other than help your grandfather.”

Baekhyun shrugs and thinks for a moment. “I’d just like to relax and take it easy. Sleep late. Eat your amazing cookings. Play games. Maybe go out hiking or something. But mostly just reload and de-stress.” 

“I think we can make that happen.”

 

\--

 

By the third day of sleeping late, taking it easy and watching romance drama reruns with his grandmother in the afternoon, Baekhyun thinks he might actually go a bit crazy. It started raining on his first day there, and it’s been raining since, limiting the activities indoors. Normally that shouldn’t be a problem to him — he’s a total homebody who loves spending his free time nesting in his room with his laptop or Playstation for days like a total hermit (Jongdae has a lot to say about this habit of his), but right now, he’s reached his limit faster than expected.

So, after a late breakfast, instead flopping down on the couch for another episode of _Oh My Lady_ or It’s _Okay That’s Love_ , Baekhyun tells his grandmother that he’s going out for a bit.

“Out? But the weather’s still so bad.”

“I’ll put on a raincoat. I just need some fresh air. I was thinking of driving to the center and looking around a bit.”

“Oh, I see. That may be a good idea. Drive safely! There are raincoats in the closet in the hall.”

Baekhyun finds a bright yellow raincoat from the closet and the good, old and a little rusty white scooter in the garage. When hopping on, he realizes the rain has turned into a light drizzle. The air is cool and extremely fresh, feeling amazing after the days indoors. Baekhyun takes the usual route to the center, appreciating the familiar scenery on the way: the fields, mountains, rivers, farmhouses, windy roads. Riding the old scooter makes him remember the time when he was little and always insisting on riding together with either his grandfather or Baekbeom, wherever they were going.

The ride to the city center takes only about ten minutes, and when Baekhyun gets there, his initial feeling just gets stronger. Yanggu feels even smaller now that he’s been away a couple of years. But Baekhyun loves everything about it. It’s compact and peaceful, a drastic contrast to Seoul. A bus station, one mall, two shopping streets. It takes him five minutes to ride the main road back and forth. The rain has completely stopped by then, so he decides to take a little walk now that he’s out there and parks the scooter next to the bus terminal. 

Baekhyun enters a pedestrian street, which is the other one of Yanggu’s shopping streets lined with small shops, cafés and restaurants. It isn’t busy usually but now it’s almost completely deserted because of the poor weather, save a couple of school kids and ahjussis strolling about. Baekhyun feels like an exclamation mark on the empty street with his yellow rain coat and he hurries his steps. Ahead of him, he sees the popular meeting point and an attraction of sorts: a huge metal helmet on top of two curved pillars. A memorial of the Korean War, if he remembers correctly. It’s on the intersection of the two shopping streets, and sort of the very center of the city. He supposes if he were a student in Yanggu, this would be the place where he met with his friends after school and on weekends. On a rainy day like this, there’s of course no one around.

Except. When Baekhyun walks closer, he can suddenly hear music. A few more steps reveal someone sitting next to the other pillar. That someone has a guitar on their lap and a big backpack leaning against the pillar next to them. Baekhyun slows down his steps slightly and tries to get a better look at this stranger; he’s never seen buskers in Yanggu before. He stops on the street corner, far enough to not look creepy but close enough to still see the guy clearly. Yes, it’s a guy. Black hoodie, cap covering his face, fingers dancing on the strings. Baekhyun thinks he’s heard the song before but can’t name it. Something Western. 

The few other people passing by seem to be as confused by the player as Baekhyun is, judging by the weird looks and marveling mumble he causes. Baekhyun decides he must be some kind of wandering busker who will be in a new town the next day, and turns around to continue his walk. As he goes, he hears the song change, and this time he recognizes the melody instantly. _Moon of Seoul_. He’s surprised as the recognition strikes, and is about to turn back on his tracks when his phone starts ringing.

It’s grandmother.

“Baekhyun, dear, are you still in the center?”

“Yes I am, why?”

“Could you drop by at the market for me? I noticed we’re short on carrots and cabbage.”

“Of course. I’ll go right away. I’ll be back soon,” Baekhyun says and starts walking again, but spares one glance over his shoulder at the strange busker guy.

 

\--

 

The next day, the sky is clear and the rain gone like it never even happened. Inspired by the beautiful weather and the day before, Baekhyun decides to go for a drive after breakfast again. He originally plans on driving past the center to north, up the windy mountain roads and maybe to one of many vantage points with spectacular view over the region but on the way suddenly decides against it and turns towards the center on a crossroads after all. He’s acting on a whim, just feeling like he needs to go and check something. He parks the scooter and walks along the same shopping street as yesterday. Today there are a lot more people around. 

Baekhyun approaches the helmet and sees a small group of middle school students standing under it. No sign of a guy with a guitar. It shouldn’t be a surprise and it really isn’t; Baekhyun doesn’t know why he even entertained the thought that the guy might still be there. He must be in some new town by now. 

Baekhyun passes the helmet and turns to the street on the left. He feels like doing something; the weather’s too good to be wasted so he thinks of grabbing a drink and just walking around, maybe calling Jongdae and seeing how much he’s missed him. Baekhyun is just about to enter a nice looking café, when he hears it. Guitar tunes carrying over the bustle of the street. He hastily looks around and indeed, sees a player sitting on a bench farther ahead. 

Baekhyun approaches the player slowly, and when he gets closer he recognizes the guy from yesterday. The same hoodie, same cap, same big backpack. This time, he has a small audience around him, mostly female students and a couple of older ladies. Baekhyun stops a bit further from the female crowd, a phone in hand and trying to look nonchalant but watching and listening all the same. The song is strange to him but he’s still captivated by the playing. He is standing a bit on the side so this time he can see the face under the cap. A young face, a handsome face. Baekhyun guesses the guy is around his age.

There is a hat upside down in front of the guy and when he stops playing to seemingly take a break, it’s soon filled with crumpled bills and spare coins the female audience members dig from their pockets and bags. He even gets a couple of applauds and nervous giggles from the student girls before they turn and move on.

Once the female audience has all cleared up, Baekhyun sees his chance and forces himself forward. He walks up to the guy and drops a 10,000 won bill into the cap.

“Hey, nice playing,” he says, smiling, and the guy looks up from his phone in surprise. “Do you, um, take requests by any chance?”

“Sure! If I’m just familiar with the song. What do you have in mind?” 

The guy looks up at him, and for a second all Baekhyun can think of is wow what a handsome face, how beautiful big eyes and such a low timbre of voice. He clears his throat.

“Uh, _Moon of Seoul_? I saw you in passing yesterday and heard you playing it.”

The guy blinks at him. God, what beautiful eyes! “Really? It felt like no one was around yesterday because of the weather. I’d just gotten here and was a bit worried because everywhere was so deserted!”

“That’s Yanggu for you.” Baekhyun glances at the huge backpack. “Are you traveling around, or…?”

“Yeah!” the guy beams. “I’m backpacking around Korea, have been since May.”

“Wow!”

“I know! It’s been fun, mostly. I’m now on my way to Sokcho but decided to drop by here because I heard there’s this cool national park and DMZ. I was thinking I could’ve stayed a couple of days and hung around, play guitar to gather some extra cash but turns out the accommodation situation’s a bit bad in here.”

“How so?” Baekhyun asks. Even though the city is small, he knows there are a bunch of hotels and hostels around.

“Well my budget’s kinda tight so hotels and stuff are out of question. I actually managed to find a couchsurfing place here but the host just suddenly cancelled on me the day before. I tried looking something else affordable but there was nothing. So I slept in the bus terminal last night,” the guy says and then laughs at Baekhyun’s shocked expression.

“You slept there and didn’t get robbed or stabbed or anything?!”

“Nope,” the guy shrugs. “A couple of bums did try to chat to me but they let me be after a while. No offence but this place is kinda of dead at night.”

Well that sure is true. Baekhyun’s still kind of baffled at the guy’s nonchalance over everything. But maybe you have to have an attitude like that when backpacking. He chews on his lips for a moment, considering the options. The guy seems interesting, and Baekhyun feels bad that he doesn’t have a place to stay.

“Look,” he says at last, “if you don’t want to leave just yet, you could spend a night or two at my grandparents’ house. They live a couple of kilometers outside the center. I’m staying there right now.”

The guy’s eyes widen almost comically. “That would be _amazing_. But… Are you sure your grandparents won’t mind? I don’t want to be a burden.”

“No worries,” Baekhyun waves his hand. “My grandma will just be happy she has more people eating her cookings. Which are amazing, by the way.”

The guy chuckles the cutest way. “Then I’d love to take the offer. My name’s Chanyeol by the way.”

“I’m Baekhyun.”

 

Moving the two of them plus Chanyeol’s backpack and guitar case back to the house with the old wreck of a scooter turn out to be quite of a challenge; the journey takes twice as long as normally because Baekhyun drives super slowly, balancing Chanyeol’s backpack between his legs, the owner and his guitar case sitting behind Baekhyun. It’s an uncomfortable trip, but they manage somehow and make it to the house in one piece. After they’ve gotten in and Baekhyun’s introduced Chanyeol and explained the situation, his grandmother welcomes the traveller warmly and then ushers both of them to kitchen and starts serving them late lunch. While grandmother fusses around serving the food, Chanyeol sits very still, hands in his lap, his big eyes wide when glancing around, looking very shy and young all of a sudden and Baekhyun has to turn away to hide his smile. 

When they have the food in front of them and finally dig in, Baekhyun’s grandmother sits on the table with them and starts interviewing Chanyeol in a very grandmothery way. Baekhyun listens intently while munching on his rice since pretty much all information he’s managed to gather about Chanyeol is that he’s backpacking and originally a university student from Seoul. Turns out he’s also on his final year, majoring in musicology, and traveling right now because he thinks it’s his last chance to do something like that before the graduation and inevitable job hunting in near future. Baekhyun also finds out that Chanyeol’s really musical, plays like a dozen instruments and composes songs for fun. Baekhyun notes that Chanyeol likes to talk with his hands when he gets excited, and turns even cuter when patiently explaining the concept of Soundcloud to his grandmother. 

Chanyeol also politely asks grandmother about Yanggu and the area and she happily rambles on about the city and its services and their neighbors and local decision-makers. Baekhyun can tell she likes him already. He zones off for a while, too tired to follow the conversation and flicks mindlessly through his phone until he suddenly hears his name being mentioned.

“—would be good for Baekhyunie, too.”

Baekhyun’s head snaps up. “What? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing special,” his grandmother says. “I was just telling Chanyeol how you haven’t had time to visit your old grandparents at all during university…”

“Grandma, please,” Baekhyun sighs. “Stop talking about me!”

“It would be good if you could keep some company to Baekhyun,” his grandmother tells Chanyeol, ignoring his whining altogether. “He tends to just loiter at home if he’s alone for too long.”

“Grandma!”

Chanyeol lets out a laugh, looking a bit sheepish. “I can totally keep him company while I’m staying here.” He spares Baekhyun a quick glance, smiling hopefully and Baekhyun tries to return the smile despite his mortification.

“Well then, Baekhyun, why don’t you show Chanyeol the guest room? He can take his luggage there. We can put up the spare mattress later.”

“Sorry for my grandma,” Baekhyun says when they climb the stairs to the second floor. “She can get quite… talkative.”

“It’s fine,” Chanyeol smiles. “She seems great.”

“She is.” Baekhyun opens the guest room door and gestures Chanyeol to step in. 

“But! I’m not as sad anti-social hermit as she made me sound like, just saying.”

Chanyeol chuckles and drops his backpack by the bed. “Okay. But I’m still up for doing stuff together while I’m here? If you just have time. It’d be great to have someone who knows the area to show me around.”

“I have nothing but time,” Baekhyun grins. “We could start right away? Can you drive?”

“Um, yes?”

“Great! We can borrow the car and drive to the mountains, there are a couple of nice vantage points up there. Perfect spots for taking dope Instagram photos.”

“Sounds good,” Chanyeol grins.

 

\--

 

When they get in the car and take off, a silent worry crosses Baekhyun’s mind: what if the trip becomes silent and awkward? He’s sometimes a bit shy around strangers and, even though a very cute and friendly, he still considers Chanyeol a stranger. He worries in vain though. Chanyeol is a very good sport with driving in a foreign place; he intently listens to Baekhyun’s instructions and drives very carefully within the speed limit. He also likes to chit-chat a lot, and Baekhyun finds talking to him surprisingly easy and pleasant. Another great thing: Chanyeol doesn’t seem to mind him singing along to the songs on the radio. He starts off with humming along to Bolbbalgan4’s newest hit and just can’t stop after that. Chanyeol seems to enjoy his jamming, turning the volume up and drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

Most of the drive passes like that, Baekhyun constantly changing channels to find a new song to sing along to, and Chanyeol’s seems thoroughly entertained. 

“You have a great voice,” Chanyeol compliments after Baekhyun’s been belting along one of Park Hyoshin’s songs. “You studied something music related, right?”

“Vocal performance.”

“How is it? You must be the ace of your class!”

Baekhyun lets out a laugh and hopes it doesn’t sound strained. “I wouldn’t say… But I haven’t failed a single class ever?”

“Well, that’s better than me,” Chanyeol grins. He’s so cheerful. He seems like he’d want to talk more about studying but Baekhyun instructs him to pull over on the left side of the road since they’ve arrived at the first vantage point and is secretly thankful of the timing.

Chanyeol parks the car and they step out, and Baekhyun waves him to follow. They walk a couple of dozen meters to the vantage point and Baekhyun watches with amusement how Chanyeol’s eyes go wide again when he sees the view. The taller rushes to the edge, leaning against the railing and digs up his phone for photos. From the spot, there’s a nice view over the western Yanggu and it’s fields beneath the green mountains. 

“So, how is it?” Baekhyun asks when walking up to Chanyeol.

“ _Beautiful_ ,” Chanyeol breathes. “My photos won’t do this any justice though.”

“Want me to take pics of you?” Baekhyun offers since he supposes that’s what every visitor would want. “I’ll try to include the view.”

“Yes! Thanks!”

Chanyeol is like a bouncy child, and poses for the photos with a cute expression and a V sign by his face. Baekhyun bites back a smile and does his best to include both Chanyeol and the magnificent view behind him in the shots. After that, Chanyeol takes countless selfies with the same pose and asks Baekhyun to join him.

“Uh, I don’t know,” Baekhyun tries to decline, thinking he looks like shit in his old t-shirt and worn-out cap.

“Come on!” Chanyeol ushers, waving his hand. “You're my guide here. I want you in the picture.”

Baekhyun sighs and gives in, stepping beside Chanyeol. The taller leans closer and Baekhyun catches a whiff of his cologne. He copies Chanyeol and makes a V sign in front of his face. Chanyeol takes about a dozen pictures with varying angles before he’s satisfied. Baekhyun almost wishes he’d just continue for a while longer, since as soon as he’s done Chanyeol steps away from his personal space. 

“These look good!” Chanyeol chirps as he’s flicking through the photos.

“There’s yet another vantage point a bit farther from here. It’s a bit higher, too. You wanna go there?” Baekhyun asks, even though he can already predict the answer.

Chanyeol looks up from his phone, eyes shining. “Let’s go!”

 

\--

 

By the time they are done with the sightseeing and returning back to the house, it’s already late afternoon. They retreat in the guestroom to wait for the dinner, Chanyeol slumping down on the bed and Baekhyun on the futon his grandparents have brought in. They both just fiddle with their phones in silence for a moment, and Baekhyun answers Jongdae’s messages he’s gotten earlier.

 **From Jongdae:**  
how’s countryside? not bored to death yet?

 **To Jongdae:**  
nah. taking it easy, sleeping late, eating good, no complaints!

 

 **From Jongdae:**  
if you’re trying to make me jealous it isn’t working!  
btw man you should’ve been at the monthly meeting last wed tho! it was a blast  
also seungwan and sooyoung kept asking about you? have you been hitting on our juniors??

 **To Jongdae:**  
??? no??

 **From Jongdae:**  
are you sure seungwan looked kinda down when i told her you’d be gone for a while

 **To Jongdae:**  
stop with the overanalyzing! theres nothing going on

 **From Jongdae:**  
ok whatever you sayㅋㅋㅋ

 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes and lowers his phone. He glances at Chanyeol on the bed, in the small guest room of his grandparents’, and suddenly Seoul and Jongdae and all the university stuff feel so distant. 

Chanyeol raises his eyes from his phone, meeting Baekhyun’s gaze, and only then he realizes he’s been staring. He tries to save the situation by making a weird face. No idea if that really works but at least Chanyeol laughs.

“Hey,” the other then prompts, “there’s this Duta—Dutayeon? National park somewhere here. I’d really like to visit there, and if you don’t mind playing the guide for another day, that’d be great.”

“Of course,” Baekhyun says instantly. “I actually haven’t been there in years either so I’m like a tourist as well.”

 

“Okay, we can be tourists together, then,” Chanyeol smiles and looks excited, making Baekhyun think of a child again. “There are so many places here I’d like to see! I wish I could stay longer...”

Right. Chanyeol is just a traveler passing by. But would he stay longer if he had a place to stay? Baekhyun would be ready to let Chanyeol use the guest room and sleep on the living room couch, but he isn’t so sure about his grandparents.

“We can still try finding you a cheap accommodation here somewhere? I can ask my grandparents if they know anything.”

“I feel bad,” Chanyeol looks sheepish. “You’ve already done so much!”

“I’m on holiday! I have all the time in the world to help random, cute travelers.” Cute, tall and handsome travelers, he adds in his mind and gives Chanyeol a wink for good measure.

It’s totally worth it when he notices faint blush spreading on Chanyeol’s cheeks.

“Cute? Me?” 

“Uh-huh,” Baekhyun grins at the other’s embarrassment. He doesn’t have a chance to torment Chanyeol further (and that’s probably good), since he can hear his grandmother calling them down for dinner. 

 

Turns out it’s always worth asking help from one’s grandparents. While they’re eating (heavenly kimchi bokkeumbap that Chanyeol praises over and over again), Baekhyun brings up Chanyeol’s accommodation problem and doesn’t except much but for his surprise, his grandparents exchange a glance and grandmother tilts her head like saying ‘told you so’ to her husband. 

“Dear, don’t Lees have a spare room or two? I wonder if they would be willing to take Chanyeol for a couple of nights?”

“I don’t see why not,” Baekhyun’s grandfather muses. “Especially if this young man is up for doing some housework in return.”

“Oh, I’d be more than happy to!” Chanyeol says cheerfully.

“I can call them later and ask for you,” Baekhyun’s grandmother smiles. “They live half a kilometer towards the center from here, so it’s not that far.”

Chanyeol meets Baekhyun’s eyes and his smile is wide and a bit blinding. He looks excited, hopeful, just like how Baekhyun himself feels. He doesn’t know the Lees but he hopes Chanyeol will be able to charm them just like his grandparents. 

“Thanks, grandma!”

“Yes, thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it, dears,” grandmother says and starts cleaning up the table since they’ve all finished eating. “Anyone want some dessert?”

While they’re sitting on the living room eating popsicles, Baekhyun asks Chanyeol whether he would still like to do something today.

“To be honest, I’d just like to shower and sleep. I’m feeling kinda disgusting after the night at the station.”

“Oh yeah, of course!” Baekhyun had almost forgotten about the fact that Chanyeol hasn’t really slept the night before and suddenly feels bad. “Go whenever you want! And you can also sleep early if you feel like it, I’ll tell grandma to watch her evening drama quietly.”

Chanyeol laughs. “Thanks. By the way, can I upload some of the selfies we took today on Instagram? Gotta update that I’ve made it to the new town.”

“Uh well, if you want to shock your followers with my face, then go ahead I guess.”

Chanyeol pouts while scrolling down his phone’s camera roll. “Your face is fine. But I won’t post it if you don’t like it.”

“No, no, go ahead,” Baekhyun says and digs up his own phone, too. “But you gotta tell me your username so I can go and monitor the post.”

While Chanyeol’s in the shower, Baekhyun flops himself back on the guestroom futon and “monitors” the post – in other words, scrolls through Chanyeol’s Instagram feed and its hundreds of photos. The more he clicks on, the more questions he has. He sees Chanyeol posing with different bunch of friends, in a recording studio, with a cute black puppy, in Japan. He sees various selfies, and pictures from campus, ski resort, bowling alley, billiards room and Japanese onsen. He sees some older photos of Chanyeol with red hair, and newer ones of the tattoos he has (how come Baekhyun hasn’t noticed the huge guitar thing on his arm?). Looking at the pictures, Baekhyun’s starting to suspect Chanyeol only owns one black hoodie and a cap: that’s his outfit in most of the pictures, and they seem identical to the ones he’s worn today.

He’s still scrolling when Chanyeol returns from the shower, and that’s his cue to stop. Baekhyun clicks follow before exiting the profile. He watches as Chanyeol makes his way towards the bed, his hair damp and the towel flung around his shoulders. He’s wearing a t-shirt, so now Baekhyun actually catches a glance of the tattoo on Chanyeol’s forearm. He makes a mental note to ask about the tattoos later.

“I’m a bit nervous about tomorrow,” Chanyeol admits quietly once he’s settled under the covers in the bed. Grandmother had made the call and told Chanyeol he could go over to meet the Lees tomorrow.

“Why?” Baekhyun asks. “I’m sure the Lees will love you. You seem like the type to charm everyone you meet.”

Chanyeol snorts. “That’s not true!” There’s a short pause. Then: “Can you come with me?”

“Sure. I’ll even hold your hand, if you want.” 

He gets a pillow in the face for that.

 

\--

 

Baekhyun is right. The Lees like Chanyeol a lot and give him a room upstairs. They are an old and sweet couple, and it appears that Baekhyun has met them before — he just doesn’t remember it. Mrs. Lee keeps reminiscing _how cute_ and small elementary school kid Baekhyun was, and he starts regretting he promised to tag along. He laughs to hide his embarrassment, and one look at Chanyeol tells that the other is enjoying it all way too much. 

Baekhyun helps Chanyeol take his things up in the room. It doesn’t have flower-patterned curtains or bookshelf full of manga but looks cozy anyway. Baekhyun places the guitar case by the door and look at Chanyeol, who eyes the room curiously. 

“Well, you have a room! And nice hosts.”

Chanyeol turns to him, smile wide. Baekhyun notices small, cute wrinkles in the corners of his eyes.

“This is perfect. And it’s close to your grandparents’ place, too!”

“I know, we’re almost neighbors.”

It’s weird to think that he met Chanyeol only yesterday and now the other’s staying almost next-door. Baekhyun knows it’s only for a couple of days but he’s glad nonetheless; he came to Yanggu to enjoy some peace and quiet and be by himself but ever since the quirky traveller’s appearance, that has changed. Right now, the said traveller looks kind of tired, though.

“You want to take some time to settle down?” Baekhyun asks. “Take a nap, unpack stuff?”

“Yeah, I could do that,” Chanyeol admits. “Also I was thinking I could be a good guest and bond with the Lees a bit. But we can hang out later?”

“Drop me a message anytime,” Baekhyun says and digs out his phone; they quickly exchange Kakaotalk IDs before Baekhyun leaves to his grandparents’.

Once there, he lies down on the living room couch and has to give a detailed report to his grandmother about how everything went. 

“Tell Chanyeol that he’s always welcome to have a meal with us even though he’s staying with the Lees,” grandmother prompts and Baekhyun promises to deliver the message. 

He’s just started googling about Dutayeon that Chanyeol mentioned earlier, checking the directions and operating hours, when suddenly there’s a swarm of messages from Jongdae.

 **From Jongdae:**  
ok spill  
who’s this loey dude you followed on insta  
and who tagged you in this one pic  
are you having holiday romance without telling me??

 **To Jongdae:**  
lol calm down!  
hes a backpacker i met the other day  
i just showed him around a little

 

 **From Jongdae:**  
around yanggu or around the bedroom?

 **To Jongdae:**  
-___-  
who do u think i am??

 **From Jongdae:**  
uh the biggest flirt on the planet!  
and the guy’s hot  
what’s his name? where’s he from?

 **To Jongdae:**  
not telling u  
and hell be out of here in couple of days anyway

 **From Jongdae:**  
better hurry up then! ;)

 **To Jongdae:**  
dont message me again pls

 **From Jongdae:**  
:(

 

\--

 

Later, when they meet up, they head to the city center upon Chanyeol’s request. He says on his first day, he mostly just saw the bus station, the shopping street and the mall. 

“That’s like most of the center already,” Baekhyun snorts but takes Chanyeol around anyway. He shows him the city hall, the church and the river that’s only two blocks away from the shopping streets. They walk along it for a while (Chanyeol’s snapping countless photos) until Baekhyun takes them back to the shopping streets and the helmet monument in the middle. When they approach it, Chanyeol suddenly slams a hand to his head, startling Baekhyun.

“Shit, _Moon of Seoul_!”

“…What?”

“You asked me to play it for you! And I never did!”

“Oh.” Baekhyun remembers, and has to laugh. How was that only a couple of days ago? He’d gone to ask for a song from a handsome, strange busker and had ended up with a… friend? Something like that. World is so weird sometimes.

“Well, you can play it for me one of these days. I’d like to hear your other stuff, too.”

“Deal,” Chanyeol grins. “But in return, I’d want to hear more of your singing?”

“Wow, I should record that request and send it over to my friends,” Baekhyun chuckles.

Chanyeol looks puzzled. “Why?”

“Well, I like to sing a lot. When I’m bored or when I hear a song I like or when it’s too quiet in my opinion… Especially at school I tend to sing all the time because, well, there’s always some kind of music playing somewhere, and I sometimes drive my friends and classmates mad when I don’t know when to stop.” Baekhyun grins and shrugs.

“I’m sure you’d get fed up with it, too, if you spent enough time with me.”

“I doubt it,” Chanyeol says cheerfully. “But please do sing for me until I’m fed up!”

Baekhyun laughs and shakes his head but promises to do his best.

While talking, they have reached the end of the shopping street and when checking the time, they realize it would be a high time for dinner. 

“My favorite chicken place is just around the corner,” Baekhyun says. “How does that sound?”

“Perfect!”

It’s still a bit early for workers and salarymen to be dining so the restaurant is nicely quiet. They get a table by the window and order chicken, pizza, beer and coke. When the drinks arrive, Baekhyun gives the beer to Chanyeol and keeps the coke himself, earning a questioning look from the other.

“I prefer coke with my chicken,” Baekhyun explains. “And I frankly don’t hold my liquor very well, so it’s better this way.”

“How have you survived university like that?” Chanyeol asks, grinning while pouring their drinks.

“Barely,” Baekhyun admits and they laugh while toasting. It’s all very pleasant, an easy-going atmosphere between them; it almost feels like he’s known Chanyeol for two years instead of two days, until he remembers he really knows next to nothing about the guy yet. And then he remembers his Instagram photos.

“So,” Baekhyun starts and gives Chanyeol an expectant look. “I might have checked your Instagram account yesterday night, and I have _questions_.”

The other snorts, toying with his beer glass. “Fair enough. But I did the same, and I may have some questions, as well.”

“Okay, well, how about we ask and answer in turns, then?” Baekhyun suggests, and starts to wonder what kind of dirt that he’s forgotten there’s buried in his account. “I’ll start! How many instruments do you even play? Based on your pics you could be like a one-man band.

Chanyeol starts counting with his fingers. “Guitar, bass, drums, piano. And I also try to sing and rap at times.”

“Damn,” Baekhyun says, weirdly feeling both threatened and attracted. “You _are_ a one-man band.” And he’s supposed to be the music major out of them.

“Okay, my turn!” Chanyeol perks up, leaning his elbows on the table. “What’s with all the pastel hair colors?” 

Baekhyun snorts, his mind flooding with memories from a year ago. “I had bleached my hair for fun and it got so damaged that I just thought fuck it, might as well try all the colors I’ve always wanted! So I had like five different colors in the span of two months. I had fun, but my mom and girlfriend at the time not so much.”

Chanyeol looks amused. “And your hair didn’t fall off or anything?”

“Nah. I just cut it and dyed it black afterwards. I miss the colors a bit, though,” he automatically cards a hand through his hair that has been light brown for months. “Ok, next! Are you secretly Japanese or do you just like going there often?”

And it goes on like that. Baekhyun learns that no, Chanyeol is not Japanese, just likes the country a lot (is an old anime otaku) and goes there often for vacation. He also learns that the other is very nerdy, and passionate about certain games, cartoons and super hero movies. And even though it looks like Chanyeol has dozen different hobbies, he admits that all of them have been short-lived obsessions. He also claims that he owns other clothes besides the hoodie and the cap, which Baekhyun has a hard time believing, given that Chanyeol’s sporting the same outfit right now, as well. 

In return, Baekhyun has to explain a couple of crack videos he’s posted, about his gaming obsession, and (like he’s feared) about the certain pic from last Halloween. 

“So why are you wearing a wig and girls’ school uniform in this one picture?” Chanyeol asks, chuckling, and shows the picture to Baekhyun from his phone screen and Baekhyun heaves a withering sigh, rubbing his eyes.

“Let’s just say I lost a bet. That’s from the university Halloween party.”

“Who are the other people?”

Baekhyun forces himself to look at the picture. “The Harry Potter dude is my worst and best friend, Jongdae. Then that one’s Heechul hyung, he’s graduated like four years ago but he still goes to every party. Then my juniors, Seulgi, Sooyoung, Jaehyun. And…” He trails off.

“The blond girl?” Chanyeol prompts, even though he sounds like he guesses already.

“My ex,” Baekhyun says curtly.

“Oh. I’m sorry,” Chanyeol sounds sheepish and pulls the phone back to himself. “Bad breakup?”

Baekhyun realizes too late that he’s probably sounded more dramatic than necessary, and feels bad that Chanyeol obviously feels bad now. 

“No, no, you don’t have to apologize. It’s fine, it’s been months already…” Baekhyun sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He suddenly feels like he could use some beer.

“We had this annoying on-and-off thing going on for a while so it was almost a relief when it finally ended. But it still feels weird to suddenly see old pics and stuff, you know?”

Chanyeol nods silently but still looks kind of off and sorry, and Baekhyun’s heart aches because a sorry Chanyeol very much resembles a kicked puppy.

“Don’t worry about it, you couldn’t have known. It’s okay!” He offers a smile and clinks his glass against Chanyeol’s.

“Let’s talk about something else than my miserable love life, shall we? Like about plans for tomorrow! I was thinking we could go to the Dutayeon falls, if you’re still up for that?”

“Oh, I am, definitely,” Chanyeol says and seems to cheer up. 

“Good. I hope the second destination of Baekhyun’s Yanggu tour will be enjoyable. It’ll most likely be just us and a pack of pensioners there.”

Chanyeol laughs. “Should we take your grandparents along, then? Or the Lees?”

Baekhyun scrunches his nose, and realizes he really likes the amused glint in Chanyeol’s eyes every time he jokes around. 

“No. No we shouldn’t.”

 

\--

 

Chanyeol surprises him the next day, appearing in denim shorts and a white t-shirt.

“See? I have other clothes!”

“Unbelievable,” Baekhyun chuckles while getting in the car. He doesn’t say how he appreciates the change, though he thinks Chanyeol would look good in any kind of clothing.  
Baekhyun raises the plastic box in his hands. “Grandma made us packed lunch. Kimbap. I feel like an elementary school kid going to class trip.”

“Oh, I loved class trips,” Chanyeol says unsurprisingly and actually sounds like an excited elementary school student. The image kind of breaks when he starts the car and drives off the yard. 

They drive north for fifteen minutes and have to pass through a military guarded gate to get into the actual Dutayeon area. The soldiers check their IDs and they have to sign a security agreement form.

“Wow, I didn’t know it’s this strictly guarded,” Chanyeol says when they’ve passed the gate and drive towards the parking lot.

“We’re super close to the DMZ, that’s why. And this area has like, old landmines from the war still scattered around, so they have to keep an eye on the tourists who come here.”

“Mines?! Seriously? Is it even safe to walk here?”

“Of course, as long as you keep in the marked paths and trails. Follow your guide and you’ll be fine!” 

They park the car, buy the tickets and head off along the marked road that leads towards the river and the falls. The weather is cloudy but hot and there aren’t that many other people around. They see a couple of small groups of elderly people, just like Baekhyun has suspected. 

When the river opens up in front of them, framed by the green wooded hills, Chanyeol lets out a delighted “wow!” and runs to the shore to take pictures. Baekhyun follows him, smiling at Chanyeol’s excitement and digs up his own phone to snap a couple of shots of the beautiful view, as well. And if couple of his pictures include Chanyeol’s lanky form balancing by the water, it’s only because the other keeps walking into his frame.

Once they’ve got their pictures, Baekhyun ushers Chanyeol forward towards the actual waterfall. The river that runs all the way from North Korea falls through a narrow gap between two cliffs, filling up a small, emerald green pond before changing into a stream again. 

“It’s smaller than I expected,” Chanyeol muses when they stop by the pond to take more pictures. “But looks pretty all the same.” 

By the waterfall, there are more hikers, ahjummas with their big sun visors and walking poles and ahjussis with backpacks and maps. Baekhyun walks by the waterfront, stepping from stone to stone, and suddenly feels like wading. He takes off his shoes and socks and rolls up his jeans a bit, carefully stepping in the water. The floor is rocky and uneven but the cold water feels amazing. 

“Chanyeol, come on!” he calls over his shoulder, looking for the other. He sees Chanyeol standing further on the shore, pointing his phone at him and smiling.

“Are you filming me, idiot? Stop it!”

“Sorry,” Chanyeol laughs and lowers his phone, walking closer. “You looked cute.”

Baekhyun snorts and feels stupid when his neck heats up. He kicks the water, sending some splashes at Chanyeol’s way. The other gets in the water with him, and they paddle to and fro for a while, take a couple of pictures with the waterfall in the background and occasionally try to splatter each other. In the end, Chanyeol almost falls over in the slippery rocks, and they decide it’s better to stop and move along. 

“Let’s walk one of the trails they have here,” Baekhyun suggests when they’re drying their feet. “I remember there are these scary but cool hanging bridges that go over the river.”

As expected, Chanyeol is visibly excited and as expected, he wants to take pictures once they arrive at the first bridge. He thinks the bridges are just cool and not scary at all. Baekhyun disagrees. He’s also growing rather impatient towards Chanyeol’s need to snap million pictures of everything, and he half-drags the other forward from the first bridge after five minutes. 

They are following the trail along the rocky riverbank, when Baekhyun suddenly feels a drop in his neck. He looks up to the sky and gets another one on his face.

“Great, rain.”

He glances over at Chanyeol, who tucks his phone in his pocket and meets his gaze, grimacing. “Now what?”

Baekhyun looks around stupidly, like there would magically be a shelter of some kind in the middle of the forest. The rain gets heavier fast so whatever they do, they’ll get wet.

“I guess we turn around and hurry back to the car. Unless you want to continue in the rain?”

Chanyeol shakes his head. “Let’s go!”

They run, jog and speed-walk their way back the same route they came. Unfortunately the rain isn’t the nice light, drizzle kind but more like a very summery downpour and once they reach the parking lot, both of them are completely drenched. The small shelter by the ticket office is full of the elder hikers, so Baekhyun and Chanyeol dash straight to the car. They climb in, slam the doors shut and for a while just sit there, catching their breath.

Baekhyun checks that his phone is fine and puts it on the dashboard. His hair is dripping, his drenched shirt glued to his skin and he can feel the seat getting wet under him.

“Ew. This wasn’t part of the plan.”

Chanyeol chuckles and cards a hand through his dripping hair. “Quite a rain! It doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.”

“Yeah…” Even though he’s drenched, Baekhyun doesn’t feel like going back just yet. “Let’s wait for a while? Wanna have lunch in the meantime? We’ve still got those kimbaps.”

“Sure.”

They both munch on the rice rolls in silence for a while; Chanyeol turns on the radio for background music and his forearm tattoo catches Baekhyun’s eye again. From the tattoo, his gaze slips to Chanyeol’s white and wet t-shirt that is plastered against his chest and stomach and… Wow. Baekhyun quickly looks away and tells himself to get a grip.

“The tattoo’s cool, by the way,” he says, trying to distract himself. “Is it a guitar?”

Chanyeol smiles. “Thanks. And yeah, something like that.”

“Did it hurt?”

“Like a bitch. But the result is always worth the pain.”

“You have others, too?”

Chanyeol raises his left hand, spreading his fingers and Baekhyun sees a word on the side of his middle finger.

“’Loey’? That’s your Instagram username?”

“Yeah. It’s like a penname I use with music stuff,” Chanyeol explains. “And there’s still one other but… that I can’t show you right now.”

Baekhyun raises his brows at that. “Okaaay. Don’t tell me you have your ass cheek tattooed or something?”

Chanyeol cracks up and almost hits his head on the steering wheel. “No, nothing like that. It’s… just something that’s more hidden.”

“Okay, Mr. Mysterious,” Baekhyun says with an eye roll, and desperately tries to stop his mind from going places it shouldn’t. It doesn’t work very well. He stuffs the last bit of kimbap in his mouth and looks out of the rain-striped window. The rain really wouldn’t be stopping any time soon.

“Look,” Baekhyun says after a moment. “I’m sorry this trip kinda failed because of the rain. Maybe we can try coming again another day if we just have time?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Chanyeol assures. “I did get to see the waterfall after all. And this,” he gestures around the car and the kimbap wraps in their laps, “ makeshift picnic in the car is also something interesting I haven’t done before, so. All good!”

“Well, I’m glad,” Baekhyun smiles, yet again admiring Chanyeol’s ever-so-positive attitude towards everything. And it’s weird, so weird how that radiant, toothy grin fills his stomach with warmth. 

Chanyeol diverts his eyes, toying with his kimbap wrap and suddenly looking somewhat antsy and hesitant. 

“This may sound a bit odd,” he begins slowly, “but how long are you planning on staying at your grandparents’?”

Baekhyun blinks, slightly surprised. “Uh, the initial plan was two weeks.” He realizes he’s already halfway through that. After Chanyeol appeared, the time has suddenly flown by.

“Why?”

Chanyeol shrugs and is now fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “I was just thinking that now that I have a sort-of free accommodation, I’m not in a hurry to leave. The Lees are really friendly, and they said that if I help them with the store they run, I can stay as long as I wish.”

Chanyeol gives Baekhyun a quick sideway glance, almost shy, which is adorable. Baekhyun smiles because he thinks he knows what Chanyeol’s asking but waits for the other to voice it himself.

“So… I was thinking that I could stay here as long as you will. I’m not in a hurry and this is already the last part of the trip anyway, and having you as the local “guide” has been more than great.”

“Like I said, the initial plan was two weeks, because I thought I’d only be loitering around, watching drama reruns with grandma and helping grandpa with his projects but now…” Baekhyun trails off and looks at Chanyeol meaningfully. He shrugs.

“Classes don’t start until September.”

Chanyeol mirrors his smile and that tells him they have a mutual agreement. It fills him with excitement and alacrity, the mere thought of being able to spend more time and have fun with Chanyeol without thinking that he would be gone the next day. 

 

That night before sleeping, Baekhyun is on his phone, browsing through Naver, Twitter and Instagram. On a whim, he goes to Chanyeol’s Instagram profile and clicks the Soundcloud link attached there. He’s only heard Chanyeol’s blabbering about his account and all the covers and bits of original composition he has there but hasn’t actually ever listened to any of them, so now he decides to give them a try. 

It’s over midnight already so Baekhyun grabs his earphones and starts going through the songs. There are a dozen tracks, half of which seem to be covers and the rest Chanyeol’s own songs, or so Baekhyun assumes. He listens through the covers of Coldplay, Linkin Park and some anime songs, and even though it’s not really his type of music, he finds he likes all of them. Chanyeol’s own songs are mostly hip-hop and rapping, and he hasn’t been aware that the other’s low voice can sound even better than when he sings. Baekhyun ends up listening to some of the songs multiple times and lowly humming along to the ones he knows. 

He ends up falling asleep to Chanyeol’s soft singing.

 

\--

 

After the little agreement, they don’t have a rush with Baekhyun’s Yanggu tour. The rainy weather stays after the Dutayeon trip so Baekhyun is once again forced to stay indoors. This time though, he has company. Instead of drama reruns, he watches bunch of movies with Chanyeol. Some Marvel films he’s missed and a couple of Disney animations because Chanyeol _demands_. Baekhyun had no idea someone could feel so strongly about Zootopia. They also try gaming a couple of times with their laptops and mice borrowed from Baekhyun’s grandparents and the Lees and it turns out to be a bad idea. They’re both competitive sore losers, and when it’s not the equipment Baekhyun’s annoyed at, it’s Chanyeol. He considers it a victory and sign of true friendship when they’re still on good terms after the rounds of LoL and Battleground. 

After closely hanging out for about a week, Baekhyun thinks he’s already quite familiar with Chanyeol’s different sides and quirks, but there’s still a rather unexpected one that he discovers one day, when Chanyeol shows up at the house late afternoon. Baekhyun’s grandmother is in the kitchen about to make samgyetang for all of them and when Chanyeol hears about this, he offers to help her.

“Can you cook?” Baekhyun raises his brows and Chanyeol smiles.

“I’m not hopeless? I often helped with cooking at home, and I’ve always wanted to try making samgyetang.” He says the last bit while looking hopefully at Baekhyun’s grandmother, who looks delighted and happily lets Chanyeol help her.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun ends up sitting by the kitchen table, silently observing the cooking process and feeling rather useless. The only task grandmother trusts him with is chopping up the vegetables and kimchi, and he’s kind of bad at even that, judging by the sighs grandmother heaves when she sees his onion hash. Chanyeol smiles encouragingly at him though, and Baekhyun spends most of the time secretly watching him after that. Chanyeol looks concentrated and eager, carefully following Baekhyun’s grandmother’s instructions, asking and ensuring when he’s not sure. He keeps glancing and grinning at Baekhyun ever so often, and when the broth is boiling, he comes over with a spoon and makes Baekhyun taste it, looking triumphant when Baekhyun praises it. It’s all disgustingly domestic and makes Baekhyun’s heart flutter a little. 

Later when they’re gathered together and eating, Baekhyun’s grandfather praises the food and grandmother happily informs that it’s all thanks to Chanyeol, and Chanyeol has never looked so young and shy, muttering understatements and denials to his plate but looking pleased all the same. 

“Is there anything you can’t do?” Baekhyun asks later, when they’re walking back to the Lees’ house. The rain has finally stopped, everything smells fresh and the road is full of big puddles.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re musical, you play million instruments and sing and rap and compose, plus you’re good at sports and are a social and likable person, _and_ on top of that, you know how to cook, too!”

“Is cooking something so amazing and special?” Chanyeol chuckles and playfully bumps shoulders with Baekhyun.

“Yeah! For me, at least,” Baekhyun says and bumps him back.

“Okay. But I’m really not as amazing as you make me sound.”

“Nah, yes you are.” Baekhyun hops overs a puddle and thinks how Chanyeol may just be the most amazing and special person he’s ever met, but that sounds a bit too cheesy and heavy to be said aloud. Yet.

“And that reminded me… When am I gonna get my _Moon of Seoul_ performance?”

“Right, that. Whenever you want. Tomorrow? I promised to help the Lees with the store during the day but after that?”

“Sounds great,” Baekhyun grins and immediately has a plan forming in his head. “Come over tomorrow once you’re free. Bring yourself and your guitar!”

 

Baekhyun is just about to go to sleep that night, when his phone starts ringing and he finds a very snarky Jongdae on the line.

“Hi, Jongdae! What’s up?”

“Well, I could ask you the same! There’s been such a radio silence on your part that I already thought you’ve dropped your phone in the river or the woods or something. You told me not to message you so I decided to call instead since you’re apparently incapable of initiating communication.”

Baekhyun laughs. “I’m sorry. I’ve been kinda—busy? Or not really, but there’s been stuff going on. I’ve been playing the Yanggu tour guide and so on.”

 

“Oooh, for the hot backpacker? How’s it going~? Did you make a move on him yet?”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “I’m hanging up.”

“Wait! Okay, I’ll stop. But dude, all his recent Insta pics are like selfies with you, it does make one suspicious!”

“You’re exaggerating,” Baekhyun snorts, ignoring his speeding heart rate. “Are you stalking his Insta, you creeper?”

“No! I’m just curious, okay? You won’t tell me anything,” Jongdae’s voice gets whiny and it makes Baekhyun smile. Despite the bickering, he kind of misses his friend. “Besides, I noticed that we have a couple of mutual friends/acquaintances.”

“Oh? Small world.”

“Yeah, I kinda want to meet the guy someday! You better keep him and introduce us later when you get back to civilization. He lives in Seoul too, right?”

“He does.” Baekhyun stares at the ceiling and thinks of all the carefree _later_ s they’ve been throwing around with Chanyeol. It’s sounded like polite, empty talk but Baekhyun suddenly realizes how he really hopes it won’t be. He wants to keep in touch with Chanyeol even after they go back to Seoul and their everyday lives, wants to continue hanging out with him like this, wants to introduce Chanyeol to his friends… The sudden thought of the perfect summer holiday illusion breaking and Chanyeol just disappearing from his life after the other decides to travel forward from Yanggu makes Baekhyun’s stomach twist uncomfortably. And with the sensation comes a realization.

“…Hellooo? Are you still there?” Jongdae calls through the line.

Baekhyun’s mouth is suddenly very dry and his heart trying to break through his chest. “Oh shit.”

“What? What happened?”

“Um, nothing, I just—I just remembered I promised grandma to get up at the crack of dawn to help her with something. Gotta go to sleep now. Talk to you later?”

“Uh, okay? G’night!” Jongdae sounds confused and is probably not buying his lame excuse at all but Baekhyun is just relieved to end the call. For a while he just lies there, staring soullessly at the ceiling, digesting his feelings and the realization he just had. It has been coming though.

Baekhyun’s phone buzzes on his stomach, interrupting his thoughts, and he grabs it to see a couple of new Instagram comments from Chanyeol. The other has had a habit of leaving random, funny comments to Baekhyun’s super old pictures, and they never fail to make him smile. This time he finds a couple of shocked emojis on his only army picture that’s still visible, and a borderline mocking comment on one of his first LoL pictures. He smiles at his phone while replying with middle fingers. Chanyeol’s mere username on his screen is enough to lift his mood, and Baekhyun knows he’s a goner.

 

\--

 

Half past five the next day, Baekhyun hops downstairs and goes to the kitchen. He grabs two cola cans from the fridge and two packed cups of naengmyeon from the kitchen table and packs them into his backpack.

“You’re going now?” his grandmother asks, appearing beside him.

“Yeah. I don’t know how long we’ll be.”

His grandmother smiles and waves her hand like she understands. “Go and enjoy the weather now that it’s not raining. Have fun and behave! Say hi to Chanyeol from me.”

“Yes yes,” Baekhyun smiles.

He leaves the house just when Chanyeol is walking into the yard. He’s back in his black baggy hoodie, guitar case thrown over one shoulder. He grins cheerfully as he walks to Baekhyun.

“So? Do we take the scooter or?”

“Actually, the place we’re going to is within walking distance,” Baekhyun announces and amusedly watches Chanyeol’s surprised expression.

“Really? Are we having a picnic in the middle of a rice field?”

“You’ll see,” Baekhyun grins. “C’mon! It’s not far.”

He starts following the road south with a clearly confused Chanyeol in tow. Baekhyun understands his confusion; for someone who doesn’t know the area, there seems to be nothing but small farmhouses, rice fields and forest. He doesn’t want to spoil the surprise just yet, so he just smiles encouragingly at Chanyeol and goes on. After a while, the road splits into two and Baekhyun turns left to the narrower one, towards the forested hillside. There are only a couple of houses anymore, and the road gets windy and bumpy, disappearing among the trees further ahead. Baekhyun walks past one farmhouse and points to a small path that runs by it, leading up the hill. Chanyeol glances between the trail and Baekhyun.

“So we’re going hiking?”

“Not quite,” Baekhyun laughs. “We’re almost there, just a short hike up the hill! This is a place I used to come often as a kid.”

“Can’t wait to see…” Chanyeol says and sounds very skeptical. The change in his expression is hilarious once they reach the top of the hill. 

There, by the edge of the hill, framed by the surrounding trees stands an old pagoda. It looks exactly like Baekhyun remembers from his childhood; a bit rundown with its paint chipped and faded, its floor covered in dry leaves. It’s always felt somehow mysterious, the old, lonely and beautiful building standing alone in the forest, looking down over the valley spreading below; Baekhyun remembers it fascinated him as a child. Seeing it now makes him feel nostalgic.

“Well?” he asks Chanyeol when they approach the building. “I thought this would be a cool place to hang out. It’s nicely remote and peaceful and the view isn’t bad either.”

“I love it,” Chanyeol says and keeps gaping up at the roof paintings. “This looks like a place out of a fairytale!”

“Right?” Baekhyun grins, again happy that Chanyeol looks impressed. He steps through the dry leaves and sits down on one of the benches that circle around the pagoda between the pillars. He pats the space beside him and Chanyeol sits down, too. Baekhyun starts unpacking the food and drinks from his backpack, passing Chanyeol a cup of naengmyeon and a beer can. 

“Wow, the service is good here!”

“The performance better be good too,” Baekhyun jokes and pops open his can of coke. 

For a while they just eat and drink and take stupid selfies in between. Chanyeol also wants to know more about the pagoda, why it’s there and why does it look abandoned (Baekhyun doesn’t know), and Baekhyun tells him stories from his childhood and how he used to sneak away and come to the old building to play and get scolded by his grandparents afterwards.

Once the naengmyeon cups and their first cans are empty, Chanyeol picks up his guitar and strums the strings a bit, checking the tune. 

“Can I do some other song first? I feel like I need to warm up.”

“Of course,” Baekhyun says and leans back against the pillar behind him. “Are you nervous?”

“A bit,” the other admits sheepishly and gives Baekhyun a shy smile that pretty much melts his heart. “It’s because I know how well you sing…”

“Don’t think about that! And I can sing with you, too, but I’d want to listen to your singing first.”

“Okay. Okay!” Chanyeol nods, looking more determined and sits up a bit straighter. He starts a song that Baekhyun once again has heard but doesn’t recognize. He maybe listened to a cover of it on Chanyeol’s Soundcloud? Chanyeol sings softly in English, the low timbre of his voice smooth and pleasant. He starts the song somewhat carefully and shyly but gets noticeably more confident as the song goes on, and once it’s over he spares one meaningful glance at Baekhyun before starting with _Moon of Seoul_.

Baekhyun closes his eyes and lets the soft melody of Chanyeol’s guitar wash over him. The song has been his favorite since middle school, and even though he’s played it countless times on piano, he’s actually never heard a full guitar cover of it. Chanyeol’s barely through the first verse but Baekhyun thinks he loves Chanyeol’s version already. He waits until the second last chorus before joining in, and they finish the song off together. Baekhyun thinks their voices blend together rather nicely, Chanyeol’s low baritone with his higher tenor. 

When the last guitar tunes fade off, Baekhyun meets eyes with a beaming Chanyeol. He gives him short applauds.

“That was great! Thank you.”

“Thank _you_ ,” Chanyeol says. “Your voice is just…” He shakes his head and trails off, like looking for words, and Baekhyun feels his neck heat up under the admiring stare. 

“You know, we should do a cover together or something! You sing, I play the guitar. We can record it and put it up on Soundcloud.”

Chanyeol’s excitement is yet again cute and contagious, and Baekhyun shrugs, smiling. “We could. You already have a song in mind perhaps?”

“Oh no, we can discuss that later! But speaking of songs… You seem to like _Moon of Seoul_ a lot. Isn’t it kinda a bit too melancholic?”

Baekhyun shrugs again. “I like me some melancholy at times. That song has been one of my favorites since like middle school. I’ve been playing it on piano so much Jongdae and others probably hate it. And me.”

Chanyeol chuckles. “Well, it is a pretty song. I’d like to hear your piano version someday.”

“Let’s add that to the list. Want more beer?”

Baekhyun passes another beer can to Chanyeol and suddenly feels like drinking alcohol as well. But the two beers for Chanyeol were the only ones he brought along, so he settles with coke. On a whim, Baekhyun takes the guitar from Chanyeol and strums it a couple of times, rotating between A and E chords since those are the only ones he remembers. He hums something incomprehensible and Chanyeol cracks up.

“You should be a musician, you know,” Baekhyun says once he ends his basic impromptu song. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Some have,” Chanyeol admits and for some reason his smile falters a little. He fiddles with his can for a bit, eyes downcast, and looking so serious and thoughtful all of a sudden.

“Speaking of that,” he says eventually, glancing at Baekhyun quickly. “I’m not actually studying right now. I am in uni but I’m having sort of a gap year, that’s why I’m traveling around.” 

“Oh.”

“Or well, it’s more like me-panicking-over-what-the-hell-I-want-to-do-with-my-life-and-distracting-myself-with-traveling -year. But gap year sounds better and less pathetic, so.” Chanyeol huffs and takes a long sip from his beer.

“It’s not pathetic,” Baekhyun says right away. “If you want to talk about it…? I don’t know if I’m the best person for consultation since I’m having my very own what-the-hell-I-want-to-do-with-my-future crisis but I can listen, at least.”

Chanyeol gives him a sad smile. “Thanks. And you too, huh? You didn’t decide to skip your final year and go backpacking though?”

“No, but I skipped my last summer classes and came here in the middle of nowhere to mope,” Baekhyun shrugs.

That emits a small laugh from Chanyeol. “Sounds like we both could use some consultation.”

“And more alcohol for that.”

Chanyeol looks more cheerful again, and Baekhyun passes the guitar back to him, requesting one more song. The sun’s already setting behind the mountains and the western sky they see is colored with hues of golden yellow and orange. Baekhyun estimates they only have around half an hour of daylight left, and he wants to hear more of Chanyeol’s playing before they need to leave. He asks him to play Coldplay’s _Magic_.

“You had a cover of that on Soundcloud.”

“You’ve been listening to my Soundcloud?” Chanyeol asks, brows raised and looking so pleased and smug that Baekhyun wants to backpedal a little.

“Some. I was just bored one night.”

“Okay. Was this your favorite?”

“No. I don’t know. Just play!”

Chanyeol snickers and starts the song. Everything seems to be glowing in the light of the setting sun. The pagoda is painted gold, the shadows of the pillars growing longer. The gentle guitar melody dances in the darkening evening with Chanyeol’s soft and husky voice, and for a moment everything feels kind of magical. Baekhyun watches the burning sunset, watches Chanyeol as he plays, and it almost feels like his heart is burning as well, from the newly found and recognized feelings.

Soon enough, the song fades away, the sun sinks behind the mountaintops and the magic is gone. Chanyeol strums the strings for one last time, and Baekhyun wants so much to reach over, take his hand and pull him closer or say something, but he doesn’t dare. Instead, he just smiles at the other, raising his half-empty coke can for a toast.

“It’s getting darker,” Chanyeol remarks while putting the guitar back to its case.

“Yeah. Better head back soon, I don’t want to scramble down the hill in complete darkness.”

“Good point. But thanks for showing this place! It’s amazing!”

“Just doing my tour guide duties,” Baekhyun jokes but is secretly pleased. He makes a mental note to try and bring Chanyeol there again while he’s staying. 

As the light fades, they pack up their things and get ready to head back; Baekhyun gathers the trashes and empty cans in plastic bags and stuffs them in the backpack to be thrown away later. They leave the pagoda and head towards the path leading down the hill. It’s even darker under the trees and Baekhyun barely sees where he’s stepping. Chanyeol yelps behind him, staggering probably because of an unseen rock or tree root.

“Careful! Here,” Baekhyun holds out his hand and Chanyeol takes it; it’s for support so they won’t fall over on the steep hill, Baekhyun tells himself.

It turns out to be a good idea though as they both stagger while walking down, carefully looking for steady footings in the dark, tightly gripping each other’s hands. At some point Baekhyun digs up his phone and turns on the flash to light up the path ahead, and eventually they get down the hill in one piece. Baekhyun leads them back to the road by the now dark and silent farmhouse. They can finally see again under the yellowish streetlights, but Chanyeol’s grip on his hand stays as they start walking towards the main road. 

It feels so nice and pleasant and natural, and Baekhyun wants to laugh at himself at how a mere act of _holding hands_ makes his heart flutter like this. Like a damn elementary school kid. They walk in silence, shoulder to shoulder, through the warm darkness of the summer night, the only sound being the steady chirr of cicadas. Too soon they’re in front of Baekhyun’s grandparents’ house, and Chanyeol gives his hand a short squeeze before finally letting go. 

“Thanks for “the picnic”,” he smiles. “Let’s do this again?”

“Definitely.” 

A short silence falls, both of them just smiling at each other, the atmosphere suddenly weirdly hesitant, and Baekhyun doesn’t know what to make of it. Chanyeol fidgets with the strap of his guitar case, shuffling his feet a bit.

“Well, see you tomorrow?” he finally says, cocking his head adorably, and what Baekhyun wants to say is _no, don’t go, stay for the night_.

“Yeah, see you,” he says instead. “Good night.”

“Night!” Chanyeol leaves with a wave and the grin ever so bright. 

Baekhyun is left standing by the yard, feeling a bit like an idiot and a lot like in love. 

 

\--

 

Jongdae’s often said that a little alcohol in the system helps facing certain situations, people and topics one naturally wouldn’t dare or want to. Baekhyun’s usually rolled his eyes at this, given how many drunken confrontations, arguments and awkward situations with his friend he’s had to witness. Not to talk about the morning-after remorse. But this time, he may be ready to take a small leaf out of Jongdae’s book.

Baekhyun wants to know, _needs_ to know, whether he’s pining after something impossible or not. He knows quite a deal about Chanyeol and his life already but nothing about his possible past or present relationships. Hell, the other could even be dating right now for all he knows. Baekhyun wants to believe that Chanyeol would’ve probably told him about a significant other if there was one but he can’t be sure. And he wants to be. Tries to be. With that, he suspects, he needs a bit of alcohol.

Luckily it’s very easy to convince Chanyeol to have a new sort-of picnic, this time by the river in the center. Baekhyun knows the riverbank is a popular hanging out and picnic spot among the locals, a bit like Han River in Seoul but in a lot smaller scale. Chanyeol seems thrilled, as per usual, so that night they take bikes and cycle to the center. They drop by at a convenience store to buy drinks, snacks and instant ramyun and after that, set camp by the river, among other small groups of people who are enjoying the summer evening. For once Yanggu looks lively.

Baekhyun pops open his first beer and takes a sip, face scrunching a bit at the bitterness. It’s been a while. He also insisted getting a soju bottle and received a questioning look from Chanyeol, an identical one that he’s sporting right now.

“What’s with the sudden alcohol? I think you said you don’t drink that much.”

“I do, at times,” Baekhyun assures. “I just felt like getting a bit tipsy on a summer night. And I’m missing all the get-togethers happening at home, so.”

“Fair enough,” Chanyeol smiles and raises his beer can. “Cheers!”

Baekhyun tries to drink slowly and carefully but even then he’s already feeling slight buzz after his first beer. He enjoys the feeling though, and happily accepts another beer handed by Chanyeol. The other also uncorks the soju bottle.

“How much can you drink?” Baekhyun asks curiously, watching Chanyeol take a long swig from the bottle, and maybe getting a bit caught up on the way his Adam’s apple bops when he swallows. 

“Two bottles, I think? You?”

Baekhyun takes the soju he’s offered and takes a small, tentative sip. It burns in his mouth and on the way down and he can’t help a grimace. “I—I think I can only do like, half a bottle?”

Chanyeol laughs and takes the bottle back. “In that case, we better be careful with this!”

“I need to practice more,” Baekhyun muses while sipping his beer.

“You do,” Chanyeol chuckles and suddenly reaches out to pinch his cheek. “Your face is getting all red already! How cute~”

“Stop,” Baekhyun laughs, swatting Chanyeol’s hand away and palming his own cheeks. They’re hot and he can guess they’re only getting redder now. The other seems to be enjoying every second of it.

“No, really, it’s cute.”

“ _Stop_ saying that!”

His phone stars ringing right then, and while fishing it from his pocket, he gives Chanyeol a half-hearted kick. He not surprised the slightest when he sees who the caller is.

“Hi, Jongdae!”

“Heeeey, how are you?” his friend’s voice is loud over the line. “We’re out for some drinks and I thought I’d call you because I kinda miss your stupid face. A little.”

And that confirms that Jongdae’s drunk as well. Baekhyun laughs.

“I miss your stupid face, too. And believe it or not, I’m also out right now! And drinking!”

“Wow, okay, what’s going on? Is—is _he_ there, too?”

“He is,” Baekhyun says, rather smugly, and glances over at Chanyeol who’s intently listening to the conversation.

“Let me talk to him!” Jongdae pleads immediately. “Pleeease? I wanna talk to the mysterious, hot backpacker.”

“Absolutely not.”

“C’moon, I won’t say anything weird. I just want to introduce myself! You know, I’m your best friend and all. Please?”

Baekhyun heaves a sigh and holds the phone out for Chanyeol. The alcohol is clearly helping him to not give a damn. “Jongdae wants to talk to you. Beware: he’s loud and drunk.”

Chanyeol accepts the phone. “Um, hello? This is Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun sits there through the whole conversation, fretting over what Jongdae might say to Chanyeol but nothing major seems to go down, at least judging by Chanyeol’s reactions. He keeps smiling and laughing most of the time, occasionally glancing over at Baekhyun. The chit-chat sounds light and casual. Finally he hands the phone back to Baekhyun.

“He’s a keeper, just saying. I’ll call you later!” is all Jongdae chirps to him before hanging up. 

“He seems like a fun guy,” Chanyeol says with laughter. 

“He’s fun 20 percent of the time, and pain in the ass the rest,” Baekhyun retorts, gulping down his second beer and opening a new one right away. 

“He was very curious about me and my life. And whether I’m a single or not.”

“Oh god, I’m sorry,” Baekhyun says right away, ignoring the jump in his stomach. Of course Jongdae has the nerve to ask about the one thing he’s curious about, too. 

“It’s fine,” Chanyeol waves his hand, his tone light and amused. “I don’t really talk about those things. Because there’s rarely anything to talk about.”

“Oh?”

Chanyeol picks at the label on the soju bottle. “I haven’t dated anyone in a long time. Since high school, actually. I hadn’t even had any serious crushes until very recently, too. I’m a bit fail at love,” he says with a shy chuckle.

“Nonsense,” Baekhyun says and takes a sip of the beer, because his throat feels very dry all of a sudden. He tries to sounds as nonchalant as possible when asking: “What about the crush?”

“It’s actually someone I met during this trip,” Chanyeol says, looking over at the river and smiling a little to himself. “I really fell for them.”

Baekhyun watches him, and he looks so handsome and happy but the words make Baekhyun’s stomach drop and heart ache in a way he never knew could be possible. He forces a smile on his face though, not wanting to spoil the mood.

“Really? That’s great! But—you’re changing places all the time, wasn’t it hard to leave someone like that behind?”

“Of course,” Chanyeol admits. “But I hope we could meet again once I’m done with all this.”

_That’s all I ever wished for, as well._

“I hope you can,” Baekhyun makes himself say, smile still on, and reaches for the soju bottle. He needs something to dull out the pain in his chest. 

“What about… you?”

“Huh?”

“Do you have someone—Someone you like?”

Baekhyun lets out a dry laugh before taking a swig of the soju. It still burns, but now it feels almost pleasant. “Oh, I do. But I don’t think it will work out.”

Chanyeol looks confused and like he wants to ask more, but Baekhyun quickly covers his mouth with his hand. “Enough with the love talk. Let’s listen to some music? Put on something good!”

He pours some of the soju into his beer can and shoves the bottle back to Chanyeol.

“Shouldn’t you slow down with the soju…?”

“It’s fine! C’mon, Chanyeol, the music!”

He plasters the smile on his face and drinks and drinks to drown the pain.

After that, his memories get a little hazy. He tastes the somaek, hears the chatter of other people around them and the music, feels Chanyeol’s body beside him, his shoulder under his head, an arm around him. 

“Baekhyun? Hey?”

“’m okay…”

Then, suddenly a nausea penetrates his drunken mind, quickly followed by the need to vomit. He tries to tell Chanyeol that he needs to go to toilet, _right now_ , but the other is stopping him for some reason. Baekhyun feels so bad, he hears Chanyeol’s low voice in his ears but the words are fuzzy… 

He crouches down and throws up. There are arms around him and Chanyeol continues talking, and Baekhyun gets water somewhere, to wash the awful taste off his mouth. 

His head is spinning, the whole world is spinning, and he leans heavily against the body next to him. He nuzzles the shoulder and breaths in the soft scent. Suddenly he realizes the surrounding noises have stopped; no more chatter or music or hum of traffic. It’s peaceful and silent, and Baekhyun sighs contently. He’s lying down, and his head is still spinning, and the body is not beside him anymore. Baekhyun blindly reaches out a hand and grabs a handful of fabric. 

“Chanyeol?”

“I’m here. Go to sleep.”

 

\--

 

The first thing that pierces through Baekhyun’s cloudy consciousness is a throbbing headache. He scrunches his face, burying it into the pillow. He tries to go back to sleep but the pain is too much, and on top of that, there’s this nauseous feeling in his stomach. He grunts lowly. What the hell?

The next thing he realizes is the foreign smell of the pillow, and the wooden wall in front of him as he opens his eyes. He’s not at his grandparents’. Baekhyun rolls over, seeing another pillow and a bundle of blanket, and — at the end of the bed, Chanyeol. He’s sitting there with a hood pulled over his head, hunched over and looking at his phone. When Baekhyun shuffles the blankets, he glances over at him quickly.

“Oh, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“Awful,” Baekhyun croaks, his voice ruff and throat dry as hell. The nauseous feeling intensifies with every movement. “Where…?”

“Oh, we’re at the Lee’s,” Chanyeol says. “I—I thought it’d be better to bring you here instead of taking you to your grandparents’, considering the state you were in.”

‘The state’, right. Images of last night flood Baekhyun’s mind. The riverside, the people, the alcohol— As he tries to recall the events, only bits and pieces come back to him, and everything is so fuzzy…

“Oh god, what did I do?”

“You don’t… remember?”

“Only bits,” Baekhyun admits, looking at the ceiling, trying to delve through his mind, to force himself to remember. He recalls the conversations with Chaneyol, the phone call with Jongdae, the talk about… Chanyeol’s crush, and wow okay, that’s something he doesn’t want to think about right now. He sighs.

“I… I remember drinking the soju. And after that — a total blackout.”

Silence falls between them. Chanyeol’s still on his phone, unexceptionally quiet, and Baekhyun tries to will down the nausea. 

“God, I feel so bad,” he whines weakly after a while. “But… Wait, what time is it? If I slept here my grandparents are probably super worried since I didn’t show up last night. I should call them—“

“I messaged them last night,” Chanyeol cuts in. “When I brought you here. I figured they’d be worried so… I asked you to open your phone and sent a message to them, telling that you’d be staying over here. I, uh, hope you don’t mind?”

“No… Of course not. Um, thank you?” Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol gets up and fetches a water bottle from the writing table. He offers it to Baekhyun with a pack of painkillers. Baekhyun takes them, popping a pill out of the pack.

Chanyeol stands beside the bed, silent, looking at anywhere but Baekhyun. Something feels off but Baekhyun’s hung-over mind can’t focus on that right now. He gulps down the pill and drinks half of the bottle at one go. Water has never tasted so good.

“I’m sorry if I… Did or said something weird last night,” he says then. “I’ve never had a blackout this bad before. This is exactly the reason why I shouldn’t drink. Don’t let me do this again?”

He tries to lift the mood, smile weakly at Chanyeol, but the other’s face stays blank.

“Look, um, I’m sorry but I have to go,” Chanyeol suddenly says, motioning towards the door. “I promised to help the Lees with the store, and it’s almost noon already… You can leave when you feel better. I’ll… see you later?”

“Oh. Okay?”

Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol hurries out, and it almost looks like the other _wants_ to get away from him. Which seems weird and crazy and somehow makes Baekhyun feel even worse than he already does.

 

Afterwards, Baekhyun can’t comprehend how he managed to get up and walk back to his grandparents’ in that hangover but, somehow, he did. He tries to pretend he’s fine to his grandmother but she can probably tell what’s up when he immediately retreats back to his room with a pot of water and painkillers. He sleeps most of the day, and only late at night realizes that Chanyeol hasn’t been messaging him all day. That’s a first after they’ve met.

After a long pondering Baekhyun sends him a message that both thanks Chanyeol for everything and apologizes for everything Baekhyun did or may have done (since he can’t remember). Chanyeol answers shortly with a thumb up emoji and “np”. Baekhyun asks about the bikes, since he only now remembered about them, and according to Chanyeol, they’re still at the center since they had to take a taxi back. Baekhyun starts to feel bad again. Is this how Jongdae’s remorse always feels? It’s horrible. He sure isn’t drinking ever again.

He wants to properly apologize to Chanyeol, so he suggests they pick up the bikes together tomorrow. Chanyeol’s next message throws him off.

 **from Chanyeol:**  
sorry, I promised to help at the store tomorrow too  
and I guess I’ll just go alone after my shift  
now I gotta sleep  
talk to you later

The polite, matter-of-fact messages feel nothing like the usual Chanyeol Baekhyun’s used to. No cheekiness, no emojis, no excitement. The evasion and rejection hurts and confuses him, and to make it worse, Baekhyun is pretty sure it has to do with something that happened the night before. Something he can’t remember.

 

\--

 

 **to Chanyeol:**  
look is everything alright?  
did i do something?  
can’t we talk?  
please

 **from Chanyeol:**  
sure everything’s fine  
i’m just a bit busy right now

It’s been two days and that’s pretty much all Baekhyun’s gotten from Chanyeol. It’s really starting to frustrate him but he feels helpless. He even walked up to the Lee’s house earlier when he got fed up with Chanyeol’s curt messages, but Mrs. Lee told him that Chanyeol was “out” right then. Baekhyun walks back, feeling frustrated, angry and lost and decides that if Chanyeol wants to avoid him so much, so be it. He’s tried his best to reach out to the other. At home, Baekhyun flops down on the couch and tunes in for the afternoon drama. His days have fallen back to the very uneventful pattern since Chanyeol’s disappearance from them. His grandparents have also noticed that.

“You aren’t seeing Chanyeol today either?” his grandmother asks when she sees Baekhyun on the couch.

“Guess not,” Baekhyun shrugs. “Seems like he’s busy today as well, though how a backpacker can be busy in a foreign town is beyond me.”

“Oh. Well, maybe tomorrow, then?”

“Maybe.” Not likely.

“We could invite him over for dinner again? I could make bulgogi.”

Baekhyun chews on his lip. He’s pretty sure Chanyeol won’t be coming over, no matter how great a meal his grandmother cooks. But he can’t tell that to her.

“I—I’ll try asking him.”

“Good. Now, if you’re not doing anything special, your grandfather could use your help outside. He’s fixing the fence.”

So Baekhyun spends the rest of the afternoon playing carpenter outside. He’s very bad at it, and it’s a surprise he doesn’t smash all his fingers with a hammer when trying to fasten the fence boards. The work requires all his attention and concentration, so it leaves little to no time to mull over the Chanyeol issue, which is positive. 

Only in the evening, when Baekhyun sits on the bed after showering and looks at his phone with no new messages, the gnawing uncertainty and — he finally admits it to himself — longing hits him again. He’s dying to see Chanyeol, and to try and fix the something he’s unknowingly broken. He feels so helpless.

“Just wait a little,” is Jongdae’s advice over the phone. Baekhyun’s told him everything, minus the feelings aspect. “He clearly just wants to be alone for a while, which means that you’ve really managed to hurt his feelings somehow... Man, I still can’t believe we’re here talking about your drunken mess and not mine!”

Jongdae finds it extremely amusing that Baekhyun was so drunk that he blackouted while Baekhyun would just want to forget about the fact and instead focus on the Chanyeol Problem he’s having.

“What if he just avoids me forever? Or worse: just takes off from Yanggu without telling me?” That’s the one scary thought he’s tried not to think about.

“Nah, would he be so petty? I know I would, but Chanyeol sounded like a fair and laid-back dude. Quite a poor reason to spoil a friendship over some stupid, drunken episode. Even though we don’t know what you did…”

Baekhyun heaves a withering sigh. “I hate myself. Chanyeol’s like the brightest and kindest person I’ve ever met and somehow I clearly managed to be an ass at him.”

“Well, what’s done is done and now all you can do is try to make it up to him somehow. It’ll work out, I’m sure! Fighting!”

Again, Baekhyun thinks, someone else has much more confidence and trust in him than he himself does. He knows Jongdae’s right, though. He just needs to figure out a way to confront Chanyeol, and the thought is weirdly frightening at the moment.

 

\--

 

Turns out that Baekhyun’s grandmother is one step ahead of him. The next day, most of which Baekhyun’s spent moping around the house due to poor weather and trying to think of ways to reach out to Chanyeol and gather courage to actually do it, his grandmother knocks on the guest room door and tells Baekhyun to come down for dinner.

“I’ll come in a bit,” he answers from the bed where he’s sprawled on, staring at the ceiling.

“You come down right now,” his grandmother says firmly. “We have a guest.”

Baekhyun sits up. “Who?”

“You’ll see in a bit. Come on!”

So he walks downstairs in his grandmother’s tow, suddenly hesitant and nervous, because he has a hunch of who the guest is. And indeed, when they arrive in the kitchen, he sees Chanyeol sitting by the table beside his grandfather, cheerfully chatting with him. Baekhyun’s stomach jumps at sight of the other; he feels like he hasn’t seen him in ages, even though it’s only been two days. The way Chanyeol’s smile dims when he looks at Baekhyun breaks his heart but he has no chance to dwell in that as his grandmother starts fussing around.

“Okay, now we’re all here! I asked Chanyeol to join us for dinner since he hasn’t been here for a few days. So nice that you came, dear,” Baekhyun’s grandmother pats Chanyeol’s shoulder while she starts filling their rice bowls.

“Thanks for inviting me,” Chanyeol smiles shyly.

“Clearly you’re not that busy anymore,” Baekhyun can’t help retorting when he sits down opposite to Chanyeol. The bite is obvious, and Chanyeol looks back at him blankly.

“Yeah, luckily not,” he says curtly and then turns his attention back to Baekhyun’s grandparents.

It must be the most frustrating and agonizing dinner Baekhyun’s ever had. He doesn't even taste the food since he’s so hyperaware of the man sitting in front of him and busy looking nonchalant even though he’s nothing but. Chanyeol chats politely with his grandparents, smiling lightly but in Baekhyun’s opinion the smile looks a bit stiff at times. Occasionally, Chanyeol’s eyes wander over to Baekhyun, who always quickly averts his gaze, annoyed at himself of being caught staring. He wonders if his grandparents (especially grandma since this is all her doing) can sense the awkward and tense mood floating over the table. 

His grandmother looks unbothered enough, and smiles widely when Chanyeol praises her bulgogi after the plates and bowls are empty.

“Thank you, dear! Now, you boys can go and wait in the living room while we clean up the table. I still have a dessert for you!”

And here he thought the situation couldn’t get any more awkward. Having no other choice, Baekhyun slowly gets up and follows Chanyeol to the living room. A little voice at the back of his head tells him that this is the best chance of confronting Chanyeol he’s ever going to get. Baekhyun wants to tell the voice to shut up but as he watches Chanyeol’s back and thinks of the way it hurt to see his smile vanish earlier, he knows he needs to try. He wants to. Because he misses Chanyeol like crazy. So Baekhyun walks beside the other and jerks his head towards the stairs. Fortunately, Chanyeol doesn’t argue or question but only silently follows Baekhyun upstairs and to his room.

Baekhyun closes the door, his heart hammering in his chest. He realizes he doesn't really know what he wants to say but hopes the words will somehow come out right this time. He takes a deep breath, turning around to face Chanyeol. The other awkwardly stands there in the middle of the room, looking like he wants to be anywhere else. 

“I was afraid you might bail without telling me,” Baekhyun says to break the silence.

“It did cross my mind,” Chanyeol admits. 

“But you didn’t?”

Chanyeol shrugs. He seems restless, fiddling with his ring, his gaze traveling around the room but avoiding Baekhyun. Baekhyun’s afraid that at any moment Chanyeol might just storm out, so he forces his next words out.

“Look, we need to talk. About what happened. Please?”

Chanyeol shrugs again and finally meets his gaze, his face unreadable. “Okay.”

“I just… I again want to say that I’m sorry for anything I did or said—“

Chanyeol snorts, shaking his head. “You just keep apologizing…”

Baekhyun blinks, confused. “Shouldn’t I?”

“You honestly don’t remember? What you, uh, did or said?”

What the hell. “No! Do you think I’d pretend? I’ve never had a blackout like this before and it’s pretty damn scary, to be honest. Especially since I can’t remember what I did to make you so upset.”

Chanyeol sighs, running a hand through his hair. “It’s… not like that.”

“Then how is it? You need to help me out here.” 

Chanyeol is silent for a few moments, looking like he’s going through an internal battle, and whatever the outcome is, he eventually nods and sits down on the bed. Baekhyun takes that as a cue to silently inch closer, and he sits down on the other end of the bed. Chanyeol keeps quiet, his eyes downcast, like he’s still debating with himself.

“Tell me?” Baekhyun prompts carefully.

The other takes a deep breath. “Okay. I don’t know if you remember this but after the call, you suddenly started downing the soju and poured like half of it into your beer. I tried stopping you but you insisted it was fine, and at first it really seemed like it. But then after some time I guess the booze kicked in and you became kinda drowsy, and that’s when I took the rest of the drink away and tried to make you drink water. Then you suddenly said you needed to go to bathroom because you felt bad and I panicked because I didn’t know if there were any toilets nearby—”

“Oh God, don’t tell me…” Baekhyun groans. He didn’t think listening to his own drunken idiocy would be this agonizing.

“Yup, you threw up,” Chanyeol sighs. “Into a plastic bag. I still feel bad for all the people who were nearby but what can you do? Anyway, you looked slightly better after that, so I thought that it was a high time for us to leave. I figured that I wouldn’t be able to take you back to your grandparents’ in that state, so I decided to just get us to the Lee’s. You kept saying that you didn’t want to leave yet but you could barely even stand and walk, so… Yeah. I managed to get us a taxi. I was afraid you’d get nauseous in the car again but you were just babbling nonsense the whole ride. In general, you seem to become very talkative and very clingy when drunk…”

Baekhyun’s buried his face in his hands, completely mortified, and he almost misses the way Chanyeol’s tone gets lighter and teasing for a moment. He lifts his head, but Chanyeol is not looking at him.

“Anyway, the drive went fine, we got there, and I got you in and into my room without waking anyone up. I told you to go to sleep but you… You said you had something you wanted to tell me. You insisted it was important and kept apologizing because you were wasted.”

Chanyeol’s voice gets quieter, and suddenly Baekhyun feels cold, like his veins are filled with ice water; he thinks he can guess what’s coming—

“You… you told me you liked me. You kept repeating it, and said that I didn’t have to answer or anything, that you just wanted to get it off your chest... And—And I told you to say it to me again in the morning, when you’d be sober. You nodded and went to sleep, and… Yeah.” Chanyeol ends awkwardly, hands nervously fiddling with the hem of his shirt, eyes still downcast.

Baekhyun’s stomach is twisting, his heart racing, and he’s trying to make sense of his mess of thoughts. “I—I don’t…”

“Please don’t say you’re sorry,” Chanyeol cuts in.

“I wasn’t going to. But—” Chanyeol’s words finally properly register to him. “What did you say? That you told me to say it… again?”

Chanyeol finally lifts his head and looks at him. “Yeah. But, as it turns out, you forgot about everything. And considering how many times you kept apologizing on everything you’d said and done…”

“I—what? No! No, that’s not what I meant,” Baekhyun hurries to say, getting more and more confused with every passing moment. He ruffles his hair, frustrated with himself, and knows that he now needs to finish what his drunken self has started, no matter how much it scares him. He clears his throat.

“This isn’t how I wanted this to go, but drunk Baekhyun seems to be a blabbermouth and also braver than normal me. He’s an idiot, but he’s not a liar.”

Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol, deep into the big beautiful eyes that are right then framed with a frown that Baekhyun wants to wipe away. 

“So here I’ll say it again: I like you, Chanyeol. I really do.”

“Me too,” Chanyeol whispers back, and Baekhyun’s heart flips.

“B–but what about your crush? The one you met while traveling?”

Chanyeol chuckles softly, his face finally breaking into a smile as he watches Baekhyun.

“I don’t know how to break this to you, but… I met my crush here in Yanggu. He came over to me on the street and requested a song. He also offered me a place to stay. Showed me around, spent time with me. He’s bright and funny and cute and I really really enjoy being with him.”

Baekhyun is rarely rendered completely speechless, but now he finds that he is. Bewilderment, disbelief, excitement and joy wash over him all at once, leaving him kind of giddy.

“I… _Really_?” Baekhyun asks weakly, looking at Chanyeol’s small smile and the way his eyes sparkle. He’s so beautiful. He said he _likes_ him.

“Really. I—I wanted to tell you back then by the river but I couldn’t, after all. I was kinda afraid of my own feelings and… afraid that someone like you would never like me.”

Baekhyun snorts. “And _I_ was afraid someone like you would never—God, this is so stupid! Come here.”

Baekhyun shuffles closer on the bed and pulls Chanyeol into a hug. He buries his face into the crook of Chanyeol’s neck and breathes in his scent. He feels Chanyeol’s hand smoothing over his back, his breath tickling against his neck; the other feels warm, solid and safe and the hug like an anchor in the storm of feelings he’s just gone through. 

“I’m sorry for being an idiot and causing such a confusion,” Baekhyun mumbles after a moment. “Sorry I hurt your feelings.”

He can feel Chanyeol shaking his head. “You just made it up.”

There’s a smile in Chanyeol’s voice, and Baekhyun pulls away a little to look at the other. There are small wrinkles on the corners of Chanyeol’s eyes, and the dimple on his left cheek. Baekhyun leans in and presses a light kiss on the dimple. Then another one on the corner of Chanyeol’s mouth. He halts momentarily, lips hovering over the skin when Chanyeol turns his head just a little, seeking Baekhyun’s mouth with his own and pressing their lips together. The first kisses are light and chaste, but soon get longer and deeper, both of them curious and impatient. 

Baekhyun is so immersed in Chanyeol that a sudden call from his grandmother on the other side of the door makes him jump.

“Baekhyun-ah! The dessert is ready, come downstairs.”

“W–we’ll come in a second,” he calls through the door and then buries his head in Chanyeol’s shoulder to muffle a giggle. The on-going dinner had somehow slipped his mind. 

“Let’s not keep your grandparents waiting,” Chanyeol says, running his palms up and down Baekhyun’s arms. “We can… continue later.”

“Yeah? Will you stay after dinner?”

“I can.”

Baekhyun smiles, wide and happy and leans in for one more kiss, _because he can_. He then takes Chanyeol back downstairs and tries to act as normal as possible. This time it’s different kind of torture altogether, with them exchanging glances and small smiles over the table. If his grandparents, especially grandmother, notice some kind of change in the atmosphere, they say nothing of it. And when they’re finally done, Baekhyun and Chanyeol retreat back in Baekhyun’s room for another kind of dessert.

 

\--

 

Their carefree holiday routine falls back to what it used to be, the only difference being that now there are lots of cuddling and kisses and making out included. They try to make the most of their time together while staying discreet, often retreating to either of their rooms to “watch a movie” or “play games”. In reality, the movie plays in the background and game stays in pause forever while they’re busy exploring each other’s bodies with their hands and mouths over and over again. 

The secrecy is an unfortunate necessity in a small rural town like Yanggu, and especially right in front of Baekhyun’s grandparents, but he finds that it also makes everything a bit more exhilarating. The fleeting touches, meaningful glances and smiles, some footsie under tables whenever they’re eating out fill Baekhyun’s stomach with butterflies and good kind of longing. At times it is frustrating that they must refrain themselves in front of other people and in public but Baekhyun tries to think that the intimate moments they share behind closed doors make up for that. 

Sometimes, even closed doors are not enough: one afternoon Mrs. Lee comes knocking on Chanyeol’s door while Baekhyun has his tongue down Chanyeol’s throat, and it leaves them startled but giggly. After that, Baekhyun decides it’s time to resume Baekhyun’s Yanggu Tour and so he starts taking Chanyeol to places again: hiking trails, vantage points and picnics – and the more remote a place, the better.

 

\--

 

On the next clear day, Baekhyun asks to borrow his grandparents’ car again, and they drive to a vantage point that’s deep in the mountains 30 minutes drive away. Baekhyun’s only been there once as a child and they almost miss it and drive past the spot; it’s only a small, sandy extension by the road with a view even Chanyeol has seen many times already. But it’s far from any settlement and there’s next to no traffic on the road so Baekhyun trusts that they can be at peace.

“Have you ever made out in a car?” he asks matter-of-factly once they’re parked, and leans over to the driver’s seat to pull Chanyeol into a kiss, slowly sliding a hand up his thigh at the same time.

“I haven’t, actually,” Chanyeol admits and cups Baekhyun’s face, nibbling at his bottom lip. 

“Well, I’m happy to be the first with that~”

“That’s not the only first you’ll be. Or are.” Chanyeol pulls back a bit, eyes flicking to Baekhyun and away. He clears his throat. “If it hasn’t been obvious, I—I haven’t been with a guy before. Hadn’t even kissed one before you. So…”

“It’s fine,” Baekhyun says instantly, and strokes his fingers softly over Chanyeol’s cheek. “We can take it slow. And it’s not like I have a ton of experience either…”

The other raises his brows at him. “Oh?”

“I, uh, hooked up with a senior during my freshmen year a couple of times,” Baekhyun explains and sighs. “Can’t recommend, it ended up being very awkward afterwards. But yeah, it’s been a while.”

“So, what? Are you suggesting we have sex in your grandparents’ car here in the middle of nowhere?”

Baekhyun laughs. “That wouldn’t really be taking it slow, would it? No, I just wanted a bit more privacy? Like, if I do end up with your dick in my mouth, at least there probably won’t be any interruptions in here. I hope?”

“I hope you know you can’t say that without actually carrying it out?” 

“Hurry up and get in the backseat then,” Baekhyun grins and quickly pecks Chanyeol’s lips before getting out and moving to the back.

It’s a bit tight, especially for Chanyeol with his long limbs but they manage. Baekhyun makes Chanyeol laugh by pulling a bath towel out of his backpack and spreading it on the seat under them for some cover. He’s also packed a box of tissues.

“Someone’s prepared,” Chanyeol chuckles.

“Well, this isn’t my car. The less mess we make, the better.” 

Chanyeol sits on the seat sideways, leaning back against the door and Baekhyun settles on top of him, between his legs. He tries to shake the slight awkward feeling he gets when looking out of the windows and seeing the road _right there_. It’s all empty and deserted but there is always the small possibility of someone driving past and seeing them. But then again, so what? This was his idea after all. 

Luckily, once Chanyeol wraps his arms around him and pulls his down for a hungry kiss, Baekhyun easily forgets about everything else. Chanyeol kisses him with fervor, mouth hot and inviting, hands roaming under his shirt, and Baekhyun all but melts in his arms. He grinds shamelessly against Chanyeol, drawing needy moans from the taller one that go straight to his dick. Baekhyun wants to hear more of that, so he slides a hand up under Chanyeol’s shirt and rubs his thumb over the left nipple, feeling it harden under his touch. He gives it a light, experimental pinch, evoking a low whine from Chanyeol. 

Baekhyun pushes Chanyeol’s t-shirt up to his armpits and leans down to flick his tongue over the nipple. The other gasps as Baekhyun continues to slowly lick and kiss his way down across Chanyeol’s chest and stomach. He stops at the waistband of the shorts and glances up at Chanyeol. 

“You’re really going to—?” Chanyeol asks.

“I said I would, didn’t I? Just a warning: I haven’t done this in a long while.”

“Haven’t done this at all,” Chanyeol responds and they both laugh.

Baekhyun swiftly opens his pants and helps Chanyeol to pull them out of the way, along with his underwear. Chanyeol’s already hard, and Baekhyun wraps his hand around the length, giving it a couple of firm strokes and evoking some luscious moans from Chanyeol. He leans down, tentatively licking over the tip, tasting the salty pre-cum on his tongue. Slowly, he takes Chanyeol into his mouth, trying to relax his jaw and breathing through his nose. Chanyeol reaches out his hand and curls his fingers into Baekhyun’s hair as he starts bopping his head. The breathy moans and chants of his name that drop from Chanyeol’s lips are like music to his ears. One time Chanyeol instinctively snaps his hips up, trying to thrust into his mouth and almost makes him gag. He grunts and in return pinches Chanyeol’s side, making the other yelp and twitch, and Baekhyun gets a sheepish “sorry” from him. 

Baekhyun sucks hard, curling his tongue against the shaft, and suddenly feels Chanyeol tighten the grip in his hair.

“Baek, I’m gonna—“

Chanyeol tries to lift him up but Baekhyun doesn’t move, just keeps on sucking, wrapping three fingers around the base of Chanyeol’s dick and squeezing slightly. He pulls out just a little and flicks his tongue over the tip. Chanyeol throws his head back, his cock pulsing as he comes in Baekhyun’s mouth with a muffled groan. 

Baekhyun swallows and lets Chanyeol’s dick slip out of his mouth, pulling back a bit. He reaches for some tissues to wipe over his mouth quickly and then hurries to open up his pants, his own hard-on throbbing and almost painful.

“Fuck, Baekhyun—come here,“ Chanyeol breathes and slides his hand to the back of Baekhyun’s neck, pulling him closer.

Baekhyun lies back on top of him and Chanyeol instantly claims his mouth again, his other hand traveling down to pull Baekhyun’s dick out of his underwear. Baekhyun can’t help a whine against Chanyeol’s lips when the other fists his cock and starts pumping it rhythmically. He breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against Chanyeol’s shoulder, thrusting his hips into Chanyeol’s hand, desperate for a release. 

Chanyeol mouths at the crook of his neck, suddenly sucking and biting on the skin, and Baekhyun grits his teeth because he’s so close. He pushes against Chanyeol’s shoulder, nails digging into the other’s arm, panting. He feels sweat dripping down his temple and along his spine.

“More, Chanyeol—“

Chanyeol obediently picks up his pace, trying to match it with Baekhyun’s hasty thrusts. Chanyeol bites down on his neck again, hard, and flicks his wrist, his thumb brushing just below the head and the pleasure pooling deep in Baekhyun’s gut finally spills, and he cries out when coming into Chanyeol’s hand. Chanyeol strokes him through it and then reaches out for tissues to wipe his hand and stomach. Once he’s done, Baekhyun pulls his pants back up and flops down against him, exhaling deeply, spent but content. He feels Chanyeol’s lips against the crown of his head and he smiles, nuzzling against Chanyeol’s shirt.

“Ah, I’m hot,” Chanyeol whines and sweeps his hand by his damp hairline. 

“Yes, you are,” Baekhyun mutters and grins when Chanyeol whacks his head lightly. He’s sweaty and sticky himself, too, and can’t wait to get a shower.

“We should go to a hotel next time,” Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun chews on that for a few moments, and then remembers something. “We should go to Sokcho.”

“What?”

“Wasn’t that part of your plan altogether? Weren’t you headed there?” Baekhyun raises his head to look at Chanyeol.

“I was,” the other admits. He gently brushes his fingers along Baekhyun’s forehead, pushing his bangs out of his eyes, smiling fondly. “That was before you made me stay here.”

“Well, we should go together,” Baekhyun pushes, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach caused by Chanyeol’s words and his fond voice. “It’s only an hour and a half by car. We could go for the weekend, get a hotel, go to the beach, visit Seoraksan…”

“Is this part of Baekhyun’s Yanggu Tour?” Chanyeol chuckles.

“Yes! It can be. Sokcho is a must-go place if you’re around here. _And_ we wouldn’t have to hide at the backseat of a car to make out, imagine that!”

Chanyeol laughs and leans down to kiss Baekhyun, all lingering and sweet. 

“Let’s go,” he says against Baekhyun’s lips and he smiles, kissing him deeper. It takes them a while to head back home. 

 

\--

 

That night, Jongdae messages him asking why he isn’t back in Seoul already even though it’s been almost three weeks since he left, and Baekhyun supposes it’s finally time to tell his friend the truth about Chanyeol. He’s only vaguely reported back to Jongdae about their reconciliation after the dinner night. He isn’t even sure why he’s kept quiet about it all this time – maybe because Jongdae had been right from the day one, and admitting that has always been a bit hard for Baekhyun. Though this time, he’s glad that Jongdae’s assumptions turned into reality.

 **to Jongdae:**  
change of plans  
im gonna stay here for the rest of the holiday!

 **from Jongdae:**  
uh is this really byun baekhyun i’m talking to or some local country pumpkin?

 **to Jongdae:**  
this is byun baekhyun and he has some news for u  
as much as it pains me to admit this: u were right about me  & chanyeol  
the whole time

 **from Jongdae:**  
????  
OH  
WAIT REALLY???  
YOU AND HIM??????

 **to Jongdae:**  
yep

Baekhyun is smiling down at his phone when it starts ringing in his hand, startling him. The second he picks up, he has Jongdae shouting “I FUCKING KNEW IT!” in his ear.

 

\--

 

They head off to Sokcho on Friday morning. The weather is hot and sunny, and Baekhyun rolls down the window as they drive along the windy roads through green mountains. He sings along to the songs on the radio, sometimes properly, sometimes with funny imitations, making Chanyeol laugh. It reminds Baekhyun of their first car ride together, when Chanyeol had just arrived in Yanggu. It feels like ages ago. Now, he easily reaches out his hand to rest it on Chanyeol’s thigh while he drives and can’t help glancing fondly at the other, enjoying it when Chanyeol gets flustered and tells him to stop staring. Those times, Baekhyun laughs and turns to look out of the window, the wind ruffling his hair, closing his eyes against the warm sunlight. He doesn’t remember when was the last time he was this happy. 

When they arrive to Sokcho, Baekhyun tries to navigate them to their hostel, and eventually succeeds, after a couple of mishaps. They were lucky to find a room with a reasonable price with such a short notice, and they’re both more than pleased when they walk in to their room and see that they have a nice view over to the sea. Baekhyun steps to the window, and Chanyeol comes behind him, wrapping arms around his middle and kissing his neck, making him squirm because it tickles. 

“What’s on the agenda next, Mr. Guide?” Chanyeol asks and rests his chin against Baekhyun’s shoulder.

“I was thinking general sightseeing… Unless you want to test the bed right away? It looks comfy.”

“Later~” Chanyeol says, pecks his cheek quickly and then pulls him towards the door, clearly ready to go and explore. 

And explore they do. They walk along the beach toward the city center (Baekhyun lets Chanyeol do navigating with Google maps), and once there, visit the big market area and eat their stomachs full with different street foods and snacks. They walk by the port to the Sunrise Pavilion that stands at the end of the cape by the sea, and take the obligatory pretty pictures for Instagram there. After that, Chanyeol wishes to visit the famous Abai village next to the port, so they take the boat there, and wander among the small and sympathetic area. They find a good-looking seafood restaurant and eat dinner there. 

Baekhyun’s feet are killing him after the whole day of walking around, so after they’ve eaten, he urges Chanyeol to return to the hostel. The night is still young but Baekhyun knows exactly how he wishes to spend the rest of it. Turns out he’s not the only impatient one; as soon as they’re back in their room, Chanyeol pushes him against the closed door and all but steals Baekhyun’s breath away with deep and demanding kisses. 

“I’m all sweaty and gross,” Baekhyun breathes when Chanyeol moves on to mouth along his jawline and neck. “Wanna take a shower?”

“Together? Hell yeah.” And he’s already reaching for the hem of Baekhyun’s shirt and pulling it off him.

They’re in the middle of undressing and moving towards the bathroom, when Baekhyun suddenly spots something in Chanyeol’s rib.

“Wait, is that—?”

He lifts Chanyeol’s arm and looks at the gothic style script tattooed on the upper side of his rib. Chanyeol smiles at him.

“It’s the third secret tattoo.”

“It’s pretty! And looks hot. How come I haven’t noticed it before? What does it say?” Baekhyun leans closer and tries to make sense of the ornamental letters. “’Si me amas, serba me’?”

“Ser _va_ me,” Chanyeol corrects, chuckling. “The old lettering is a bit challenging.”

“Is it latin? What does it mean?”

“’If you love me, protect me’.”

“Aww, that’s cheesy,” Baekhyun smiles and wraps his arms around Chanyeol’s waist. He suddenly wants to say something equally cheesy to the other, like how he would protect Chanyeol if given the chance, but decides against it. It feels too heavy and sudden, seeing how casual this thing of theirs is. For now, anyway. So he settles for a kiss while finally pulling Chanyeol into the bathroom.

The shower takes a lot longer than Baekhyun initially thought, since between scrubbing each other’s backs and washing their hair, they get lost in kissing each other senseless. When Chanyeol eventually reaches his hand down and wraps it around Baekhyun’s half-hard cock, he turns off the shower and stops pretending to bathe anymore. Chanyeol sucks him off and Baekhyun tests the acoustics of the bathroom. While the other may be inexperienced, his hot mouth feels amazing around him, and he’s very eager to please Baekhyun, which he finds both sweet and hot. 

Baekhyun returns the favor once they’re out of the shower, and they proceed on cuddling in the bed afterwards. Baekhyun rests his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder, their legs tangled together, and wishes he could slow down time. It’s suddenly hit him how close September is. He’d have to return to Seoul next week. 

“What are you gonna do after you leave Yanggu?” he asks Chanyeol.

“My original plan was going down the East coast after Gangwon and Sokcho, maybe all the way to Pohang but now that I’ve spent all my August here… I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to go home yet,” Chanyeol sighs, absentmindedly stroking his hand up and down Baekhyun’s arm. “Can’t we just stay here?”

Baekhyun chuckles. “Oh, I wish!”

“Anything but going back and facing my mother after months of being away…”

“Why?”

“She wasn’t particularly happy when she found out that I’d decided to take a break from uni and do this trip,” Chanyeol tells, sounding bitter. “I did try explaining her how lost I felt with everything, but she had a hard time understanding. Just told me to suck it up and finish school, so I could get a “good and respectable job”. That’s all she cares about.”

“I’m sorry, that sucks,” Baekhyun says, squeezing Chanyeol’s arm comfortingly. “But in the end, it’s your life so you should do what feels right for you. That being said, if I can give you an advice, from one lost case to another, I’d say actually finishing your degree would be wise, no matter what you end up doing after that.”

Baekhyun lifts his head to peek up at Chanyeol and sees him smiling. “Yeah, I know that. I haven’t ruled it out completely. I’ll just… need more time to think.”

Baekhyun edges himself up so he can press a kiss on the corner of Chanyeol’s mouth. “It’ll work out somehow. I’m rooting for you.”

“Thank you,” Chanyeol smiles. “What about you? When you go back?”

Baekhyun shrugs. “I guess I will suck it up and finish school and then see what happens.”

“Good. I believe in you.”

“And I believe in _you_ ,” Baekhyun taps his chest emphatically. “Remember that. Also!”

He props himself up on his elbows so that he’s nose-to-nose with Chanyeol. “Wherever you go from here, promise me that when you return in Seoul, you’ll come and find me.”

Chanyeol watches him evenly for a few seconds, his eyes bright and so deep Baekhyun thinks he may actually drown in them. A soft smile spreads on Chanyeol’s lips, the cute wrinkles appearing on the corners of his eyes, and he wraps his arms loosely around Baekhyun.

“I will.”

 

\--

 

Next morning is slow and lazy. They procrastinate on getting up and just stay cuddled up for an hour after waking up. Eventually, the need to pee forces Baekhyun to leave the bed, and when he comes back from the bathroom, Chanyeol has fetched his guitar (that he insisted on bringing along) and is sitting on the bed cross-legged, strumming something random. Baekhyun lies down next to him thinking that he hasn’t known how much he’s needed a naked Chanyeol playing a guitar in bed in his life until now. Baekhyun restrains himself and just lies there, listening and enjoying the view. Chanyeol spares him a glance, raising his brows but Baekhyun doesn’t even try to cover his blatant ogling. He sees Chanyeol rolling his eyes, amused grin on his face as he strums the strings for the last time.

“We were supposed to go to Seoraksan today, right?” the other asks.

“Yeah, why?”

“I just had this idea about another activity we could try,” Chanyeol says mysteriously. “If you don’t mind that we skip the national park?”

“I don’t,” Baekhyun says. “I’ve been there before. But are you sure you want to skip it?”

“Over this, yeah.” Chanyeol’s smile is excited and somehow Baekhyun knows it’s no use trying to ask about it, so he gets up and starts getting ready to whatever Chanyeol has in mind.

Whatever Baekhyun’s imagined, even after he sees Chanyeol taking the guitar with him when they finally leave, he doesn’t expect the other to sit down on the stairs at the beach entrance with his guitar. Chanyeol looks at him and pats the seat beside him, urging Baekhyun to sit down.

“Uh, you want us to… perform together?”

“Yeah! I play, you sing, like we’ve done before. I’ve wanted to try this with you.”

“I don’t know, Chanyeol…” Baekhyun glances around; the weather is nice so there are so many people around, walking by. He doesn’t know why the thought of singing at a public place feels so awkward when he’s performed for hundreds of people during his studies.

“C’mon,” Chanyeol ushers, smiling encouragingly. “You don’t have to sing right away, I can do some songs alone at first. It feels a bit awkward and scary in the beginning, but when you get used to it, it’s fun. Let’s try? Please?”

Chanyeol looks so excited and Baekhyun doesn’t have the heart to spoil that, so he gives up and obediently sits down beside Chanyeol. The other places his cap upside down on the sand in front of them and starts a song. Baekhyun sits there and listens but soon§ starts feeling awkward because he isn’t doing anything. Chanyeol changes the song to Radiohead’s Creep and starts singing softly, and Baekhyun watches how a couple of people gather to listen to him nearby. He digs up his phone and quickly googles for certain lyrics. When Chanyeol is done with the song, Baekhyun nudges him lightly.

“Can you play _Don’t go today_?”

“I think, yeah? You wanna sing?”

Baekhyun just nods. He clears his throat and hums lowly a couple of times to warm up his voice and then gestures him to start. Chanyeol’s face breaks into a happy smile and really, it’s all worth it for that alone. 

The awkwardness is gone the second they start the song. Suddenly all Baekhyun concentrates on is the guitar melody and singing. His voice is a bit strained at times, and Chanyeol fumbles over some chords here and there but they smile it off and continue. It’s far from perfect but that’s exactly why it feels so good and even liberating. By the time the song ends, Baekhyun feels content and excited, and the few applauds they get here and there just add to his mood. Chanyeol looks equally happy and asks: “More?”, to which Baekhyun nods.

Chanyeol’s right, it is fun. It’s been a while since Baekhyun has performed anywhere, so the rush of adrenaline and the overall happy feeling it gives feel amazing. He realizes he’s missed that. That is why, after playing at the beach for an hour and after a quick lunch, Baekhyun asks that they go and do another session somewhere in the city center. Chanyeol happily agrees. After two more hours of busking, Chanyeol is out of songs and Baekhyun’s voice starts to break, so they call it a day. They pay their dinner with the crumbled bills they’ve made that day, and Baekhyun can’t stop smiling because he feels so _happy_.

Before sunset, Baekhyun takes Chanyeol to Expo Tower’s observation platform and they watch the sun go down and the city light up around them. Chanyeol takes Baekhyun’s hand in his, lacing their fingers and for once Baekhyun doesn’t care about all the people around them, but leans against Chanyeol and again hopes he could slow down time.

Back at the hostel, they’re both tired but smiley and waste the rest of the evening away in bed, in each other’s embrace, slowly making out. 

“Thank you,” Baekhyun mutters quietly a lot later, in the wee hours, when they’re both drifting to sleep. He’s cuddled up against Chanyeol’s chest, the other’s breath fanning his hair and arms loosely around him.

“For what?”

“Just… Everything.”

Chanyeol doesn’t answer but kisses his head and holds him close.

 

\--

 

The room is full of sunshine when Baekhyun wakes up and he squints and rolls over. The next thing he registers is Chanyeol pressing light kisses on the corner of his mouth and along his jawline.

“Well, good morning,” Baekhyun chuckles, his voice still rough from sleep.

“I was waiting for you to wake up,” Chanyeol says, still peppering his face with tender kisses, making Baekhyun giggle. 

Chanyeol shifts a little, and suddenly Baekhyun has something hard pressing against his thigh. Oh.

“Wait, are you—? Want me to take care of it?”

He’s already reaching his hand down under the blanket but Chanyeol grabs his wrist on the way.

“I was thinking that we could make use of the hostel room one last time before we leave?”

Baekhyun blinks. “You want to have sex?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow. Now? What about the talk of taking it slow? And we don’t even have condoms or anything—“

“I do, no worries,” Chanyeol chirps and reaches for his bag next to the bed. He throws a pack of condoms and a lube on the bed, and Baekhyun raises his brows at him. 

“I thought I’d bring them just in case,” Chanyeol shrugs and lies back down beside Baekhyun, grinning at his incredulous expression. 

“You really want to do it?” Baekhyun asks again, just to be sure. “The check-out is in like, two hours.”

“Better hurry up then, don’t you think?” Chanyeol smirks and kisses him. Baekhyun opens his mouth and lets the other deepen the kiss. Chanyeol feels eager, almost impatient, grinding against Baekhyun’s thigh and sliding a hand down his spine to cup his ass. Baekhyun is already getting hard, too, and once their underwear are out of the way, he reaches for the lube and puts it in Chanyeol’s hand.

“Since it’s your first time doing this, it’s better for you to top,” he says and rolls on his back. 

Chanyeol sits up, looking warily at Baekhyun while he pops the tube open and squeezes some lube on his fingers. “You need to guide me.”

“I will.”

And he does. Chanyeol is very obedient and does exactly as told, but seems to be concentrating so hard that Baekhyun needs to tell him to relax a couple of times. He tries to take his own advice as well, wincing slightly as Chanyeol is spreading him open with two fingers. It stings, but he tells Chanyeol to add the third one, starting to feel kind of impatient himself. Chanyeol leans down to kiss him while slowly moving his fingers in and out, every push stinging a bit less than the earlier. Baekhyun starts to push against his fingers, clutching onto Chanyeol’s shoulders and sucking on his tongue. When Chanyeol suddenly curls his fingers just right, Baekhyun moans loudly and sees stars for a second. 

He moans again when Chanyeol finally pushes into him, throwing his head back and balling his fists in the sheet. It hurts like a bitch, and he blinks away tears and tries his best to relax. Chanyeol rests his forehead against Baekhyun’s shoulder, groaning lowly, his hot breath fanning Baekhyun’s chest. 

“You can start moving,” Baekhyun says, carding his hand through Chanyeol’s hair and hooking an ankle behind his back.

“Oh God, I won’t last long,” Chanyeol breathes.

“Me neither,” Baekhyun says and closes his eyes as Chanyeol starts thrusting into him. 

He wraps a hand around his own dick, trying to pump it in rhythm with Chanyeol’s pushes but not quite managing. It’s all a bit sloppy and they’re out of sync, but Chanyeol soon starts quickening his pace and Baekhyun can feel himself getting closer. He jerks off quickly as Chanyeol pounds deep inside him, his cock hitting Baekhyun’s prostate, making him moan and arch his back, and he spills over their stomachs. Still clinging onto the other, he clenches around Chanyeol as the waves of pleasure slowly settle, and then Chanyeol is coming too, groaning lowly against the crook of his neck. 

Chanyeol pulls out and lies heavily on top of him, head resting against his shoulder, panting. Baekhyun puts his arms around him, stroking his now damp hair. He’s feeling all limp and drowsy now and thinks that he will close his eyes for just a moment… 

Baekhyun snaps awake an hour later, fifteen minutes before their checkout time. He shakes Chanyeol awake and they scramble out of bed. In the end, they make a record of showering, dressing up and packing everything in those fifteen minutes.

 

The drive back to Yanggu is a quiet one, both of them tired and deep in their thoughts. The heavy feeling of ending hangs in the air, the weekend now gone and only a handful of days to go before Baekhyun needs to head back to Seoul. He tries to ignore the sinking feeling and scrolls through the photos he’s taken over the weekend and can’t help smiling down at his phone. Most of the pictures are of Chanyeol or their selfies. He feels sappy enough to upload one of the selfies taken at the Sunrise Pavilion to Instagram. It’s his first time to share something with Chanyeol in it, and even though the picture itself is all normal and innocent, seeing it on his feed makes his stomach twist in excitement. 

They’re only half an hour from Yanggu when Chanyeol’s phone starts ringing and he answer it without looking.

“Hello?”

Baekhyun is looking at him and sees the way his face darkens.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been kinda busy. I’m at Gangwon right now.” Chanyeol’s tone is flat and cold and sounds so foreign. Whoever the caller is, Chanyeol clearly doesn’t want to talk with them. Baekhyun looks away and out of the window, but it’s not like he can shut his ears of the weird conversation going on.

“You didn’t care much about my plans before. I’m good for another month or so.”

Chanyeol lets out a frustrated groan. “Look, I’m driving right now so if you could call me back later? Bye.”

Chanyeol puts down the phone and heaves a sigh. Baekhyun turns back from the window. “Is… everything okay?”

“Yeah. I don’t know. It was my mom,” Chanyeol huffs. “We haven’t been in contact at all since I left for the trip in May. She sounded like she’s super fed up with me. The feeling is mutual, though.”

Baekhyun reaches for Chanyeol’s knee, squeezing it reassuringly. “I hope everything works out.”

“Me too,” Chanyeol says and gives him a small smile. “By the way, I was wondering—Do your parents know?”

“About what?”

“About… You liking men?”

“No, they don’t.” Chanyeol gives him a sideway glance, looking maybe a bit surprised.

Baekhyun shrugs. “I’ve only ever dated girls so I haven’t felt the need to bring it up. Yet, at least. I have no idea how they’d react.”

“I’m pretty sure mine would straight up disown me,” Chanyeol says, and Baekhyun can’t tell if he’s joking or not. 

“Don’t say that! They might surprise you. I sometimes think that my older brother being the perfect son with a family and kids gives me the chance of being the odd one, if it comes down to that.”

Chanyeol snorts. “I wonder if that would work for me, too? My sister doesn’t have kids yet but she’s getting married soon so I guess it’s only a matter of time.”

“Sounds promising at least,” Baekhyun says and is happy to see that Chanyeol’s mood seems a bit brighter than a moment ago. They talk about other things and soon Baekhyun’s forgotten about the phone call.

 

\--

 

Since he only has few days left in Yanggu, Baekhyun has lowkey been planning on the last nice things they could do together with Chanyeol. That’s why the notice Chanyeol has for him on Monday feels like a bomb. He almost drops the skewer he’s eating.

“What did you say?”

“I leave tomorrow. Gotta go back home.” Chanyeol kicks a small rock, eyes scanning over the riverside they’re walking along. “Mom was really relentless about this, so… I need to go and settle it all. Or try to, at least.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Baekhyun asks, even though he feels rather helpless. 

“Thanks, but no,” Chanyeol says, smiling a bit sadly. “I need to deal with this myself.”

Baekhyun bumps shoulders with him and takes his hand for a moment. “What time do you leave?”

“The bus leaves around noon.”

Baekhyun’s stomach twists uncomfortably but he tries to sound cheerful when asking what Chanyeol wishes to do on his last day.

“I tried thinking about it, but I honestly can’t think of anything special. I just want to spend time with you. Maybe go for a walk? Watch a movie? Do you think your grandma would cook for us?”

“Of course,” Baekhyun smiles. 

 

\--

 

Next morning, Baekhyun drives Chanyeol to the bus station with his scooter, the same way he brought Chanyeol over three weeks ago. His heart feels heavy but he tries to not let it show. Chanyeol is quieter than usually, and quickly wipes his eyes after hugging Baekhyun in front of the bus terminal. They’ve done the longer goodbyes earlier, so all that is left now are lingering hugs, quick hand holding and soft smiles. 

“Remember what I said in Sokcho,” Baekhyun reminds Chanyeol before he walks to his bus, fingers still laced between his.

“I will.”

“Fighting! See you in Seoul.”

“See you.”

Last squeeze of hands, last smile, and Chanyeol waves at him before walking to the bus and getting on. Baekhyun stands there watching, smiling and waving to Chanyeol who peers at him from the window. He waves and waves, watching the bus take off and drive away, taking part of him with it.

 

\--

 

After Chanyeol’s departure, Baekhyun also buys himself a ticket back home and starts slowly gathering up his things that he’s scattered around the house during the month. The holiday’s finally ending and the fact sets an anxious weight in his gut. Baekhyun tries his best to ignore it and enjoy the rest of his stay. 

The weather stays hot and humid but Baekhyun tries not to get stuck indoors all the time; he goes driving and for walks. One afternoon he visits the pagoda again by himself, sits under it for a moment and thinks back to the evening Chanyeol was playing guitar for him. By his grandmother’s request, he also visits the Lees and brings them a gift basket as thanks for their hospitality towards Chanyeol. It feels so weird going there and not seeing Chanyeol.

A day before his departure, Baekhyun sits down on the living room couch with his grandmother, to watch a drama together for the last time. 

“Did you finish packing?”

“Almost. Thanks for letting me stay this long, it’s been great.”

His grandmother’s smile is warm. “Of course, dear. We have loved having you. But you need to promise to visit more often from now on.”

Baekhyun chuckles. “I’ll try. Around New Year? Or spring break.”

“You’re welcome anytime. And you should bring Chanyeol along, too. That boy was such a sweetheart.”

“Uh, I—I’ll try,” Baekhyun says again, thrown off by the sudden mention of Chanyeol.

“You will meet him again when you go back home, right?” His grandmother is suddenly watching him closely.

“Yeah, I will?”

“Good,” grandmother nods approvingly. “You should hold on to a person like him.”

Baekhyun blinks, almost not believing his ears. Is she implying what he thinks she is? “Grandma, what—?”

His grandmother looks at him knowingly. “What? Don’t think I don’t recognize young love when I see it. I’m not _that_ old yet! Ah, I want to drink some tea now, do you want anything, dear? Tea? Sikhye?” 

And with that, she stands up and waddles to kitchen, leaving Baekhyun to sit on the couch, trying to digest the fact that his grandmother has known all along.

 

\--

 

Baekhyun leaves Yanggu feeling conflicted. The month has flown by, but at the same time felt like a year. He’s relaxed and motivated even, but also weirdly restless and doubtful. He’s kind of sad leaving, but also ready to go back home again. He leaves with a lunchbox made by grandma, and her warm hugs and encouraging words as his drive. 

He’s hoped to meet up with Chanyeol as soon as they are both in Seoul, but after getting home, a simple thing like that proves to be surprisingly hard. Chanyeol seems busy, saying that he still needs time to sort things out at home, and once Baekhyun’s classes start a couple of days after he’s returned, his schedule is suddenly so packed he barely has time to sleep. 

Baekhyun’s told Chanyeol to reach out for him when he’s ready, and wills himself to be patient until then. It’s easier said than done, though. Even though they keep texting almost daily, the longer time passes, the more restless Baekhyun grows. And he isn’t even the only one.

“You still haven’t met up with him?” Jongdae asks one day over lunch. They’re at the university cafeteria because both were too lazy to go any farther.

Baekhyun shrugs and pokes at his noodles. “He needs time.”

“Are you sure it’s just that and not him having second thoughts about all this and backing off slowly? I mean, I hope that doesn’t happen but… Just a thought.”

“No, I believe in him,” Baekhyun says, even though Jongdae’s words set an uncomfortable weight in his stomach that stays the rest of the day.

When Baekhyun’s walking home that evening, worn-out and sleepy, he’s listening to the songs on Chanyeol’s Soundcloud account. It’s become a habit of his, listening to Chanyeol’s singing before sleeping. It usually soothes him and helps with the longing a little, but now it only manages to make it worse. 

**to Chanyeol:**  
i hope everything’s alright  
i miss you so much

He makes it home before the phone tings for a new message.

 **from Chanyeol:**  
miss you too  
are you busy with school this week?

 **to Chanyeol:**  
kinda  
BUT if u have time, ill make time too!

 **from Chanyeol:**  
let’s see what i can do :)  
i’ll message you!

 

\--

 

Even though Baekhyun knows to except a message, Chanyeol still manages to surprise him. Next day, he’s sitting in the university lounge with Jongdae after his morning classes, messy notes of his music pedagogy course and desperate plans for his recital scattered around. He’s sipping Iced Americano and listening to Jongdae’s bitching about one of his teachers, when his phone buzzes in his hand. He almost spills the drink when he sees Chanyeol’s name on the screen.

 **from Chanyeol:**  
come to the uni gates at 2?

 **to Chanyeol:**  
???  
are u coming HERE?

 **from Chanyeol:**  
just come!

There goes the last bit of concentration Baekhyun ever had. He gets nervous and fidgety and remembers nothing of his next lecture. The clock has never moved so slowly. The lecture ends a couple of minutes before 2 p.m., and Baekhyun rushes out as soon as he can. Jongdae is waiting for him in the lounge and absolutely wants to tag along “for support”, since according to him, Baekhyun looks like he might throw up any second. Baekhyun punches him in the arm but lets him come.

The walk to the gates feels endless, the boulevard-like walkway full of students coming and going before the late afternoon classes. Baekhyun tries to search for a tall figure among the people. In the end, he hears Chanyeol before he sees him.

A guitar melody dancing among the bustle. And not just any melody, but _Moon of Seoul_.

“Huh, there someone playing over there,” Jongdae says and points, and then sees Baekhyun’s expression. “OH.”

Baekhyun hurries his steps and wants to laugh at how familiar the scene is: Chanyeol in his black hoodie and cap, crouched over his guitar, playing. Some students have stopped around him to listen, and Baekhyun joins the small crowd with Jongdae in his tow. It takes Chanyeol some time to look up and notice Baekhyun but when he finally does, he smiles widely, eyes crinkling and looking happy. Baekhyun thinks his heart might burst. 

Once Chanyeol ends the song and the small crowd eventually scatters around him, Baekhyun finally dares to step closer and sit beside Chanyeol, beaming silently at him. 

“You came all the way here to play guitar to Baekhyun?” Jongdae asks and ignores the scowl Baekhyun gives him. “That’s the cheesiest thing I’ve seen in a while.”

Chanyeol lets out an embarrassed laugh, and Baekhyun wants nothing more but to hug and kiss him. 

“You must be Jongdae,” Chanyeol says and bows at him.

“And I don’t need to ask who you are,” Jongdae grins, bowing back. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Jongdae, I think I’ll skip the next lecture,” Baekhyun informs him. Right then, he’s ready to be a little irresponsible to be able to be with Chanyeol. And now that he thinks of it, his irresponsibility was the very reason they met in the first place.

“Surprising,” Jongdae says and rolls his eyes. “Well, I guess I’ll head back. You lovebirds have fun. See you, Chanyeol!”

Jongdae leaves with a wave and Baekhyun finally turns all his attention to Chanyeol.

“Was that cheesy?” Chanyeol asks.

“A little?” Baekhyun smiles. “But I don’t care, I love cheesy things.”

He dares to hug Chanyeol promptly. “How are you? How are things at home? And with you mother?”

“They’re… okay, for now,” Chanyeol says slowly. “I promised to go back to school next spring and she was a lot more cooperative after that.”

Baekhyun nods approvingly. “Good choice.”

“Yeah, let’s see how this goes,” Chanyeol says and shrugs. “We’ll still have a lot to talk about. Like… what if I was to have a boyfriend? Someday?”

Chanyeol bites his lip and carefully glances at Baekhyun, who’s caught completely off guard but doesn’t hesitate a second after Chanyeol’s words fully register to him. He closes his hand over Chanyeol’s.

“What if you have one starting from now?”

Baekhyun is maybe shaking a little, watching Chanyeol smile blindingly at him and bringing their entwined hands to his mouth, kissing the back of Baekhyun’s hand quickly. He’s also shaking because he’s dying to hold Chanyeol, to kiss him, so he tells him to pack up his guitar. He pulls Chanyeol up and they leave the campus hand in hand.

 

\--

 

The bus is half empty a couple of days before New Year. Baekhyun naps most of the drive, while Chanyeol seems fascinated by the snowy mountain scenery around them and keeps trying to take picture and videos.

“You’ll get bored with that scenery in a day,” Baekhyun tells him with a smile.

“No I won’t! You’re so enthusiastic,” Chanyeol elbows his playfully. “Just wait till I drag you snowboarding!”

Baekhyun sighs. He isn’t sure if it was a good idea to bring Chanyeol back to Yanggu in winter, but both Chanyeol and his grandparents kept insisting.

He regrets it just a little, especially once they get off the bus at the bus terminal and the icy wind hits his face and seeps through his jacket. He’s forgotten how freezing the Gangwon winter is. Chanyeol shudders beside him, but is smiling all the same, his cheeks already a bit red from the cold. Baekhyun looks at him fondly, still as full of love and affection as he was back in summer when Chanyeol walked into his life. 

He takes Chanyeol’s hand as they walk towards the parking lot and see his grandparents waiting by their car, smiling and waving.


End file.
